Joel Oliansky (October 11, 1935 – July 29, 2002) an Emmy-winning director and screenwriter, was best known for the screenplay ofBird (the 1988 biographic film aboutCharlie Parker), as well as writing and directing episodes of TV series includingThe Law, andKojak.[1]
Oliansky was born in Brooklyn, New York[2] and attendedHofstra University, graduating in 1959.[3] In his last year, he wrote the book for the Hofstra University Kaleidoscopians' musicalInertia which featured music bySteve Lawrence, lyrics byFrancis Ford Coppola[4] and starred fellow-studentLainie Kazan; a drama scholarship at Hofstra is named in his memory. He pursued a master's degree atYale, during which course his 1962 playHere Comes Santa Claus was written and produced.[5] He remained as playwright-in-residence at Yale until 1964, and directed two of the four plays comprising the initial season of the Hartford Stage Company, as well.[6] During this period he also wroteShame, Shame On the Johnson Boys (published in 1966), a humorous novel about the folk-singing scene.[7][8]
Late in 1964, at the urging of fellow Hofstra alumnus Coppola[9] he moved to California to work as a screenwriter atSeven Arts.[10] Although early in his L.A. stay he was largely involved in finishing his novel, he was able to establish industry connections. By 1967 he was being credited as a writer and director for theDaniel Boone TV series.[11] He also wrote screenplays for films, including 1968'sCounterpoint andThe Todd Killings in 1971. He continued to work in both film and television, directing the 1990 TV movieIn Defense of a Married Man,[12] and writing his final work in 1996, the poorly-received:Abducted: A Father's Love.[13]
In 1971, Oliansky won theEmmy Award forOutstanding Writing Achievement in Drama,[14] won the Writers Guild Award (Long Form: Multi-part) for the 1981 seriesMasada, and was nominated for these awards several other times. He wrote and directed theOscar-nominated 1980 filmThe Competition,[15] and wrote the screenplay forBird which was directed byClint Eastwood and won an Oscar, and aGolden Globe.[16]
He married Patricia Godfrey the year after graduating from Hofstra; they were later divorced. He died from complications ofGuillain–Barré syndrome, leaving two adult children. He is buried in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery.[17]
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