William Rose (screenwriter)



William Rose (August 31, 1918 – February 10, 1987) was an American screenwriter of British and Hollywood films.

Life and career
Although born in Jefferson City, Missouri, Rose traveled to Canada after the 1939 outbreak of World War II and volunteered to fight overseas with the Black Watch. After being stationed at bases in Scotland and Europe, he returned to live in Britain at war's end to work as a screenwriter, marrying an English woman, Tania Price, with whom he would later collaborate.

Blessed with the ability to adapt to two distinct cultures, William Rose wrote a number of successful British comedies including Genevieve (1953). He became a working associate of the American-born director, Alexander Mackendrick, notably for their collaboration on The Maggie (US:High and Dry, 1954) and The Ladykillers (1955). He also provided scripts for Hollywood studios, earning several Academy Award nominations for his scriptwriting and winning the Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay for Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967). Rose also won the Writers Guild of America award for Best Written American Comedy for The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming (1966). In 1973, Rose's lifetime achievements were recognized by the Writer's Guild with their Laurel Award for Screenwriting Achievement. In the 1970s, he had a brief relationship with Katharine Hepburn.

William Rose died in 1987 in Jersey, Channel Islands. He is buried in the Churchyard at St. Clement Parish Church, Jersey. William and Tania divorced; she died in 2015 aged 95.

Wins

 * Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay : Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967)
 * Bafta Award for Best British Screenplay : The Ladykillers (1955)
 * Laurel Award for Screenwriting Achievement (1973)
 * Writers Guild of America Award for Best Written American Comedy : The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming (1966)

Nominations

 * Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay : Genevieve (1953) & The Ladykillers  (1955)
 * Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay : The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming (1966)
 * Bafta Award for Best British Screenplay : The Maggie (1954), Touch and Go (1955), The Smallest Show on Earth  (1957), The Man in the Sky (1957)
 * Edgar Award : It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963; shared with Tania Rose)
 * Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay : The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming (1966) & Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967)
 * Writers Guild of America Award for Best Written American Comedy : The Flim-Flam Man (1967)
 * Writers Guild of America Award for Best Written American Drama : Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967)
 * Writers Guild of America Award for Best Written American Original Screenplay : Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967)

Filmography

 * Once a Jolly Swagman (1948)
 * Esther Waters (1948)
 * I'll Get You for This (1950)
 * My Daughter Joy (1950)
 * Gift Horse (1952)
 * Genevieve (1953)
 * The Maggie (1954)
 * Touch and Go (1955)
 * The Ladykillers (1955)
 * The Man in the Sky (1957)
 * The Smallest Show on Earth (1957)
 * Scent of Mystery (1960)
 * It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963; with Tania Rose)
 * The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming (1966)
 * The Flim-Flam Man (1967)
 * Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967)
 * The Secret of Santa Vittoria (1969)
 * The Ladykillers (2004; remake of the 1955 film)
 * Guess Who (2005; remake of the 1967 film)