Stewart Stern obit

Stewart Stern, 92, Screenwriter of ‘Rebel Without a Cause,’ Dies

 

He was not on the list.

Stewart Stern, the screenwriter of James Dean’s “Rebel Without a Cause” and camp classic, Sally Field personality disorder made-for-TV-movie “Sybil,” is dead at 92.

The writer, who has been credited with work as recently as 2012, died at his home according to media reports.

Stern was known for major accolades like an Oscar nomination for 1968’s “Rachel, Rachel” as well as close ties to industry glitterati like Gene Kelly, Paul Newman and Tony Curtis.

Other notable Stern credits include several projects about the life of James Dean, and a TV version of “The Glass Menagerie” starring Katharine Hepburn and Sam Waterson..

Stern was the nephew of Adolph Zukor, founder of Paramount Pictures. In World War II he served as an infantryman, seeing combat in the Battle of the Bulge, for which he was awarded the Bronze Star. His war service left him with permanently numb feet due to frostbite. He was the subject of the documentary Going Through Splat: The Life And Work Of Stewart Stern.

Stern taught a course in Seattle titled "The Personal Connection" at TheFilmSchool. He also taught each year at the Sundance Institute.

Stern died of cancer at the age of 92 in Seattle, Washington.

Filmography

Film

Benjy (1951) (short) – Writer

Teresa (1951) – Writer (screenplay, story)

Rebel Without a Cause (1955) – Writer (screenplay)

The Rack (1956) – Writer (screenplay)

The James Dean Story (1957) – Writer

Thunder in the Sun (1959) – Writer

The Outsider (1961) – Writer

The Ugly American (1963) – Writer (screen story)

Rachel, Rachel (1968) – Writer

The Last Movie (1971) – Writer

Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams (1973) – Writer

Sybil (1976) – Writer (teleplay)

A Christmas to Remember (1978) - Writer

Actor

Fright Night (1985) - Cook