American screenwriter
Gerry Day
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Born
| Gerald Lallande Day
(
1922-01-27
)
January 27, 1922
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Died
| February 13, 2013
(2013-02-13)
(aged 91)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
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Resting place
| San Fernando Mission Cemetery
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Occupation
| Screenwriter
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Years active
| 1954?1994
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Awards
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Gerry Day
(January 27, 1922 ? February 13, 2013) was an American screenwriter. She was also a newspaper reporter for the
Hollywood Citizen News
in the mid-1940s.
[1]
Early life
[
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]
Gerald Lallande Day was born in
Los Angeles
,
California
, the daughter of Ruthy and Lenox Day.
[1]
[2]
[3]
She was given her name not because her parents had wanted a boy but due to their Southern family name traditions.
Her father was the
organist
for the
Grauman's Egyptian Theatre
on
Hollywood Boulevard
. She watched
Howard Hughes
film the
miniature
dogfights
for the 1930 film
Hell's Angels
in a lot behind her childhood home.
Lana Turner
was her escort and gave her a campus tour when Day first enrolled at
Hollywood High School
.
Orson Welles
once hypnotized her in his magic act at the
Hollywood Canteen
.
[1]
Career
[
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]
Day later attended and graduated from
UCLA
in 1944. She became a newspaper reporter for the
Hollywood Citizen News
, filing
obituaries
and writing reviews of plays. She took a
radio drama
-writing class, which led to her writing
spec scripts
for some local television programs at the time. Producer
Frank Wisbar
would later teach her how to write
teleplays
for his
Fireside Theater
, and she would later work for
Screen Gems
producer
Irving Starr
and
Ford Theatre
.
[1]
In the 1950s, Day would take a break and tour around Europe, while her mother at home would write her saying that she would love watching the new television shows featuring horses ?
Rawhide
,
Have Gun Will Travel
and
Wagon Train
. In 1959, Day, who loved horses, met with
Wagon Train
producer Howard Christie, who let her write her own scripts, as well as
doctor
others, for the series. Day would also be an unofficial
bookie
for the series' crew, betting on horse races for them, and eventually becoming part owner of a racehorse.
[1]
She would become well-versed in the
Western
genre, writing for such series as
Here Come the Brides
,
The High Chaparral
,
Tate
,
Temple Houston
,
The Virginian
,
The Big Valley
,
The Outcasts
,
The New Land
, and
Little House on the Prairie
. She also wrote for such other series as
Medical Center
,
My Friend Tony
,
Judd, for the Defense
,
Peyton Place
,
Marcus Welby, M.D.
,
Dr. Kildare
,
Court Martial
,
Hawaii Five-O
and
Dennis the Menace
. She sometimes used the pseudonym
Jon Gerald
.
[1]
[3]
Day co-wrote scripts with
Bethel Leslie
, an actress and head writer for the long-running
soap opera
The Secret Storm
. They would write scripts for series such as
Bracken's World
,
Matt Helm
,
The New Adventures of Perry Mason
,
Electra Woman and Dyna Girl
and
Barnaby Jones
.
[1]
Awards and honors
[
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]
In 1967, Day was nominated for a
Writers Guild of America Award
for the
Court Martial
episode "Judge Them Gently". In 1980, Day was co-nominated for both a
Saturn Award
and a
Hugo Award
for the screenplay of the film
The Black Hole
.
Personal life and death
[
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]
A devout
Catholic
, Day became a
Eucharist
minister in her church. She also raised
foster children
and supported equestrian causes. She died on February 13, 2013, after a long battle with cancer.
[1]
[2]
[3]
She was interred on February 19 at the
San Fernando Mission Cemetery
in
Los Angeles
.
[2]
[3]
References
[
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]
External links
[
edit
]
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International
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National
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Other
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