Robert Pirosh

Robert Pirosh (April 1, 1910 – December 25, 1989) was an American screenwriter and film director. He is most known for his war and military-themed works, inspired by his experiences as a U.S. Army infantryman during World War II. He won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for Battleground, a semi-autobiographical account of the Battle of the Bulge. He was nominated for a second Oscar for Go for Broke! (1951), a film about the 442nd Regimental Combat Team.

Early life Pirosh was born in Baltimore, Maryland, and graduated from the Baltimore City College high school in 1928. His preparation for a career in Hollywood included study at the Sorbonne in France and the University of Berlin in Germany. When he began looking for work in Hollywood, he used a cover letter that began "Dear Sir, I like words" and concluded,I like the word screenwriter better than copywriter, so I decided to quit my job in a New York advertising agency and try my luck in Hollywood, but before taking the plunge I went to Europe for a year of study, contemplation and horsing around. I have just returned and I still like words. May I have a few with you? The letter later featured in the book Letters of Note and in 2014 was described by its editor, Shaun Usher, as his "current favorite"

In 1951, he was nominated for another Academy Award for the screenplay Go for Broke!. This was his directorial debut. He would go on to write the story for the highly regarded Steve McQueen World War II film Hell Is for Heroes, directed by Don Siegel, believed to be the basis for TV's Combat! (which he created). He also directed 1954's Valley of the Kings and 1955's The Girl Rush.

Pirosh wrote the episode "The Man From Leadville" for the 1976 CBS western television series Sara.

Selected works

The Winning Ticket (1935) – story A Night at the Opera (1935) – writer (uncredited) A Day at the Races (1937) – writer The Wizard of Oz (1939) – writer (uncredited) The Quarterback (1940) – writer The Night of January 16th (1941) – writer Song of the Islands (1942) – writer Rings on Her Fingers (1942) – writer I Married a Witch (1942) – writer Up in Arms (1944) – writer Man About Town (1947) (US version) – associate producer Battleground (1949) – story, writer, associate producer Go for Broke! (1951) – writer, director Washington Story (1952) – writer, director Valley of the Kings (1954) – writer, director The Girl Rush (1955) – writer, director Spring Reunion (1957) – writer, director Laramie (1959) (TV series) – writer, producer The Law and Mr. Jones (1960–61) (TV series) – writer Bachelor Father (1961) (TV series) – writer Hell Is for Heroes (1962) – story, writer A Gathering of Eagles (1963) – writer Combat! (1962–67) (TV series) – producer, writer, series development The Fugitive (1963) (TV series) – writer Alexander the Great (1963) – story, writer The Guns of Will Sonnett (1968) (TV series) – writer What's So Bad About Feeling Good? (1968) – writer The Bold Ones: The New Doctors (1969) (TV series) – writer Family Affair (1970) (TV series) – writer To Rome with Love (1970) (TV series) – writer Ironside (1968–71) (TV series) – writer My Three Sons (1971) (TV series) – writer Bonanza (1970–72) (TV series) – writer Mannix (1970–74) (TV series) – writer Twice in a Lifetime (1974) (TV movie) – writer Firehouse (1974) (TV series) – writer Barnaby Jones (1974) (TV series) – writer Ellery Queen (1975) (TV series) – writer The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries (1977) (TV series) – writer Hawaii Five-O (1977) (TV series) – writer The Oregon Trail (1977) (TV series) – writer The Young Pioneers (1978) (TV series) – writer The Waltons (1979–81) (TV series) – writer Harry O (1975) (TV series) – writer