Frank Pierson, 87, former Writers Guild of America West president
whose TV credits stretch from Have Gun
Will Travel to Mad Men and The Good Wife, died July 22 at age 87.
Pierson's film credits include screenplays for iconic movies
Cool Hand Luke and Dog Day Afternoon, for which he won an
Oscar.
"I feel very lucky, as do all the writers at Mad Men, to have collaborated with and
enjoyed the amazing presence that was Frank Pierson. He was a writer's writer:
sharp and funny and clever and, most importantly, honest about the details that
make one human," said Mad Men creator
Matthew Weiner. Pierson was a consulting producer on the AMC series up until
this year.
Pierson was president of WGAW twice, in 1981-83 and 1993-95.
According to WGAW, Pierson was born May 12, 1925, in
Chappaqua, N.Y., and served in the Pacific in World War II. He graduated from
Harvard and became a correspondent for Time and Life before moving into TV as a
script editor for Have Gun Will Travel.
His other TV credits include Route 66
and Naked City, Mad Men and The Good Wife,
as well as TV movies Citizen Cohn, Truman, Conspiracy, Solder's Girl
and Paradise.
Pierson's survivors include his wife, Helene, and children
Michael and Eve.
