Donald E. Stewart

Donald E. Stewart (24 January 193028 April 1999) was an American screenwriter, best known for his screenplay for Missing, which won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, the Writers Guild of America Award, the London Film Critics' Circle award, a Christopher Award, (www.christophers.org) and the BAFTA Award for Best Screenplay, all shared with the film's director, Costa-Gavras.

Life and career Born in Detroit, Michigan, he had an early passion for cars. When interviewed about what impact the foreign policy issues raised by Missing had on audiences, Stewart commented: "Movies have a tendency to really heat up the emotions." The screenplay for Missing is used in film schools for instruction in structure and development.

He wrote or co-wrote the screenplays for the Tom Clancy trilogy of Jack Ryan films: The Hunt for Red October, Patriot Games, and Clear and Present Danger.

Stewart died in his apartment at the Sierra Towers in Los Angeles of cancer in 1999 at age 69. He had three children, Scott Stewart (now deceased), Sarah Cassleman, and Peter Stewart. He was separated from his fifth wife at the time of his death.

His last film before his death was Dead Silence, a TV-movie starring James Garner. Hostiles, released in December 2017, was based on a manuscript written by Stewart in the 1980s and brought to life by director and co-writer Scott Cooper.