Ernest Kinoy | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1925-04-01)April 1, 1925 New York City, US |
| Died | November 10, 2014(2014-11-10) (aged 89) |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Alma mater | Columbia University |
| Notable awards | TwoEmmy Awards |
| Spouse | Barbara Powers |
| Children | 2 |
| Relatives | Arthur Kinoy (brother) |
Ernest Kinoy (April 1, 1925 – November 10, 2014) was an American writer, screenwriter and playwright. He was known as a staff writer for theNational Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) where he wrote scripts for many television and radio shows.
Kinoy was born in New York City on April 1, 1925; his parents, Albert and Sarah Kinoy (formerly Forstadt),[1] were both high-school teachers. His older brotherArthur Kinoy later became a leading constitutional lawyer. Kinoy attended theEthical Culture Fieldston School and laterColumbia University, although his studies were interrupted by military service during World War II.[2] During his army service with the106th Infantry Division, Kinoy was made aprisoner of war,[3] and was interned at theStalag IX-B camp[4] but, as a Jewish POW, was subsequently sent to the slave labor camp atBerga.[5]
Following his return from the war, while still attendingColumbia College, Kinoy's submission toThe Carrington Playhouse—Elaine Carrington's dramatic anthology series showcasing the work of new writers—was accepted, ultimately becoming the series' final episode. A radio satire entitled "Shakespeare Comes to the Carrington Playhouse", the episode aired on September 26, 1946, featuring cameo appearances by, among others, Carrington, directorPerry Lafferty, ubiquitousMBS producer Herb Rice, andProcter & Gamble vice president Bill Ramsey as the titularBard.[6]
After graduating from Columbia in 1947, Kinoy joinedNBC the following year as a staff writer.[7][8]
During his time at NBC, Kinoy wrote scripts for many of the major NBC radio and television dramas of the 1950s, including the televisionanthology seriesStudio One andPlayhouse 90. His television playWalk Down the Hill, based on his experiences as a prisoner of war,[1] aired in 1957 as an episode ofStudio One.[9] He wrote the script for the short-lived seriesThe Marriage, which was an adaptation of a previous Kinoy-scripted radio show of the same name.[10] The series, although well-received, was cancelled when the starsHume Cronyn andJessica Tandy chose to pursue their stage careers. He was also a writer forThe Imogene Coca Show, which ran for one season following the conclusion of her run onYour Show of Shows in 1954.[7]
Kinoy was a contributor of original stories, such as "The Martian Death March", to thescience fiction radio seriesDimension X[11] andX Minus One,[12] as well as adapting stories by writers such asRay Bradbury,Isaac Asimov andPhilip K. Dick for the two series.[11][12] Along withGeorge Lefferts, Kinoy was a primary scriptwriter for the radio programRocky Fortune, which starredFrank Sinatra and ran weekly on NBC from October 1953 through March 1954.[13] He contributed both original stories and adaptations, including an adaptation ofShirley Jackson'sThe Lottery, to the anthology programNBC Presents: Short Story.[14] As an NBC staff writer, he also wrote scripts for many of the station's programmes, includingRadio City Playhouse,The Eternal Light,The Big Story andNBC University Theatre.[15]
Following his departure from NBC in 1960, Kinoy wrote scripts for episodes of popular television series includingThe Defenders,Naked City,Route 66,Doctor Kildare andShane.
His script for the "Blacklist" episode ofThe Defenders, which guest-starredJack Klugman as an actor unable to work in his profession due to being on theHollywood blacklist, won Kinoy his firstEmmy Award in theOutstanding Writing Achievement in Drama - Original category in 1964.[16]
Kinoy wrote the television adaptations for the musicalBrigadoon, a 1966ABC production, and for NBC'sPinocchio, which aired in 1968.
He served as President of theWriters Guild of America, East from 1969 to 1971.[7]
Kinoy wrote the screenplays for two films starringSidney Poitier:Brother John which was released in 1971 and the 1972western filmBuck and the Preacher, starring Poitier andHarry Belafonte.Leadbelly, based on the life of the blues musicianLead Belly and written by Kinoy was released in 1976.
The 1976 Kinoy-scripted television movieVictory at Entebbe, made soon after thehostage-rescue operation at Entebbe Airport was nominated for four Emmys, including a nomination for Kinoy.[17]
Kinoy, along withWilliam Blinn, won an Emmy in 1977 for their script for the second episode of the miniseriesRoots. Kinoy received another Emmy nomination as the head writer of the sequel to the series,Roots: The Next Generations, in 1979.[7]
The 1981 television movieSkokie, a drama based on the real lifeNSPA controversy in Skokie, Illinois, won Kinoy aWriters Guild of America Award, as well as a fifth Emmy nomination in the category Outstanding Writing in a Limited Series or Special. He wrote the script for the 1986HBO movieMurrow,[18] based on the life ofEdward R. Murrow, and the teleplay for the television adaptation of theGore Vidal novelLincoln.
Kinoy adapted the screenplay for the 1991 TV movieChernobyl: The Final Warning from a book byRobert Peter Gale andThomas Hauser. Airing onTNT, the film starredJon Voight andJason Robards.[19] He also wrote an episode ofDiagnosis: Murder.
Kinoy wrote the "book" (story and spoken dialogue) for themusicalsGolden Rainbow,Bajour andChaplin.[20]
In 1962, Kinoy wrote the playSomething About a Soldier, which was based on the 1957 novel byMark Harris.[1] StarringKen Kercheval,Tony Roberts andSal Mineo, the play had a short run at theAmbassador Theatre onBroadway in January of that year.[21]
In 1948, Kinoy married to Barbara Powers, a doctor of psychotherapy, psychiatric social worker and an authority on the treatment of eating disorders. They had two children and remained married until her 2007 death.[22] On November 10, 2014, Kinoy died of pneumonia at the age of 89.[16]
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