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On the Waterfront Writer Schulberg Dead at 95

By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff

Posted Aug 6, 2009 4:00 AM CDT

(Newser) – Legendary Hollywood screenwriter Budd Schulberg has died, the New York Times reports. He was 95. Schulberg, who won an Oscar for On the Waterfront in 1955, was the son of a movie mogul and grew up as a Hollywood insider. His 1941 novel What Makes Sammy Run?, a scathing look at the workings of Hollywood, earned him the wrath of Tinseltown and a round of fisticuffs with John Wayne.

Schulberg again angered Hollywood by naming names to the House Un-American Activities Committee during its early '50s probe of the Communist Party's influence in the film industry, a decision he defended as an effort to tackle the party's stifling of free speech. The lifelong boxing fan kept writing until the end: He was working with Spike Lee to get a screenplay on the 1938 Joe Louis-Max Schmeling fight made into a movie.

In this April 12, 1991  photo, author Bud Schulberg is seen in Los Angeles for the celebration of the 50th anniversary of his novel What Makes Sammy Run?
In this April 12, 1991 photo, author Bud Schulberg is seen in Los Angeles for the celebration of the 50th anniversary of his novel "What Makes Sammy Run?"   (AP Photo/Kevork Djansenzian )
Budd Schulberg testifies before the  the House Un-American Committee in Washington DC, May, 1951.
Budd Schulberg testifies before the the House Un-American Committee in Washington DC, May, 1951.   (AP Photo)
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Tribute to Budd Schulberg featuring scenes from his most famous works.   (rothman217)

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The writers are really almost the only ones, except for very honest politicians, who can make any dent on that system. I tried to do that. And that’s affected me my whole life. - Budd Schulberg

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