James Lee

James Henderson Lee III (January 4, 1923 – July 2, 2002) was an American screenwriter. He is best known for writing several episodes of the 1977 TV miniseries Roots.

Career Born in Pleasant Ridge, Michigan, James Lee graduated from Harvard University and initially worked as a stage actor in New York. Not finding much success, he turned to screenwriting to supplement his income.

His fifth play Career, which drew on his experiences as a struggling actor, was an Off Broadway hit. Lee went on to write the screenplay for the 1959 film of the same name, starring Dean Martin, Tony Franciosa, and Shirley MacLaine.

Moving into television, Lee wrote four episodes of the anthology series Omnibus. One of these, "Capital Punishment", won an Edgar Award for Best Episode in a TV Series.

Lee continued to work as a screenwriter, primarily in television, from the 1960s through the 1980s. His greatest success came with the 1977 miniseries Roots. Adapting the 1976 novel by Alex Haley, Lee wrote four of the series' twelve episodes, and co-wrote four others.

Lee died of heart failure and emphysema in 2002 at age 79.

Select filmography

Television The Clock (1950) Lights Out (1950) Omnibus (1957–1960) The Invincible Mr. Disraeli (1963) The Diary of Anne Frank (1967) Rafferty (1977) - creator, writer, and producer Roots (1977) This Year's Blonde (1980) My Wicked, Wicked Ways: The Legend of Errol Flynn (1985) Napoleon and Josephine: A Love Story (1987)

Film Career (1959) The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1960) Banning (1967) Counterpoint (1968) Change of Habit (1969)