Stewart Stern Biography

Fast Facts

• Served in the U․S․ Army during World War II, where he fought at the Battle of the Bulge and earned a Bronze Star
• With John Jacobsen, he co-founded and taught screenwriting classes at the non-profit organization the Film School, and also taught at the University of Washington
• Nephew by marriage of Paramount Pictures founder Adolph Zukor
• Co-wrote his first film, the 1951 drama "Teresa," with Alfred Hayes
• Began his career in Hollywood as a dialogue director, becoming so good at rewriting awkward lines that he turned to screenwriting
• Quote: "I discovered [in the Army] that everyone ․․․ is, fundamentally, a sensitive, responsive person ․․․ [which] informed my writing of 'Rebel' - especially this whole question of the masks we feel we need to wear ․․․ and what exactly defines a 'man․'"
• Quote: "[on leaving Hollywood] "Writing on assignment ․․․ got very scary for me․ My dread of not being perfect, something I got from a childhood surrounded by powerful, successful people, began to infect everything I wrote․""
• Left Hollywood and his screenwriting career to move to Seattle in the mid-1980s, with his final feature film being, fittingly, 1971's "The Last Movie," although he continued to write for television until his departure
• Best known as the screenwriter of "Rebel Without a Cause," "Sybil" and "Rachel, Rachel․"
• Based the character Jim Stark in "Rebel Without a Cause" on his teenage self and the character's detached and unloving parents on his own
• Wrote the book "No Tricks in My Pocket: Paul Newman Directs," following Newman's directing of the 1987 film adaptation of "The Glass Menagerie," in 1989