Earl W. Wallace obit

Screenwriter Earl Wallace Has Died

 He was not on the list.

Wallace was an American screen and television writer who began his career in the 1970s writing episodes of the hit CBS Western series Gunsmoke, one of which inspired him, his wife Pamela, and William Kelley to develop the screenplay for the 1985 film Witness.

Wallace's first submission to Gunsmoke came while he was city editor of a regional newspaper, the Thousand Oaks Acorn. He had enrolled in a screenwriting class where the assignments included the creation of an original episode of Gunsmoke. The professor submitted Wallace's teleplay to the Gunsmoke writing staff, who accepted it and ran it as an episode. They invited Wallace to submit further work and eventually offered him a regular position on their writing staff. When the show ended in its 20th season, Wallace was its head writer.

Wallace wrote the teleplay for the pilot of the ill-fated 1979 TV series Supertrain and co-wrote the story with Donald E. Westlake; Wallace and Westlake shared "created by" credit.

Wallace adapted the Herman Wouk novel War and Remembrance for a twelve-part miniseries broadcast by ABC. He also wrote episodes of How the West Was Won, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, and Quinn Martin's Tales of the Unexpected, and several television movies, including Wild and Wooly, If These Walls Could Talk, A Murderous Affair: The Carolyn Warmus Story, and Rose Hill.

For his work on Witness, Wallace won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay, and the Edgar Award for Best Motion Picture Screenplay and was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay and the BAFTA Award for Best Original Screenplay. He is the recipient of the Western Writers of America Spur Award for Best Television Script for How the West Was Won.

Writer

Sharon Stone, Vanessa Redgrave, Ellen DeGeneres, Chloë Sevigny, and Michelle Williams in If These Walls Could Talk 2 (2000)

If These Walls Could Talk 2

6.9

TV Movie

created by (creator)

2000

 

Graham Greene and Litefoot in Song of Hiawatha (1997)

Song of Hiawatha

5.8

written by

1997

 

Hector Elizondo, Roma Downey, Eric McCormack, and Sarah Rosen Fruitman in Borrowed Hearts (1997)

Borrowed Hearts

6.8

TV Movie

written by (as Earl Wallace)

1997

 

Jennifer Garner in Rose Hill (1997)

Rose Hill

6.5

TV Movie

teleplay

1997

 

Demi Moore, Cher, and Sissy Spacek in If These Walls Could Talk (1996)

If These Walls Could Talk

6.9

TV Movie

story (segment 1952)

1996

 

Pierce Brosnan and Eric Schweig in The Broken Chain (1993)

The Broken Chain

5.8

TV Movie

written by

1993

 

Virginia Madsen in A Murderous Affair: The Carolyn Warmus Story (1992)

A Murderous Affair: The Carolyn Warmus Story

5.2

TV Movie

written by

1992

 

Gunsmoke: To the Last Man (1992)

Gunsmoke: To the Last Man

7.2

TV Movie

written by

1992

 

James Arness and Joe Lara in Gunsmoke: The Last Apache (1990)

Gunsmoke: The Last Apache

7.1

TV Movie

written by

1990

 

Johnny Staccato (1959)

Gideon Oliver

5.9

TV Series

story by

teleplay by (as Earl Wallace)

1989

1 episode

 

War and Remembrance (1988)

War and Remembrance

8.3

TV Mini Series

written for television

1988–1989

12 episodes

 

Harrison Ford and Lukas Haas in Witness (1985)

Witness

7.4

screenplay by

story by

1985

 

Yaphet Kotto, Gary Grubbs, Cliff Potts, and Shelley Smith in For Love and Honor (1983)

For Love and Honor

6.7

TV Series

writer

1983–1984

4 episodes

 

River Phoenix, Richard Dean Anderson, Peter Horton, Drake Hogestyn, Terri Treas, and Roger Wilson in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1982)

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers

6.7

TV Series

Writer

1983

1 episode

 

Joan Collins, Priscilla Barnes, and Lee Horsley in The Wild Women of Chastity Gulch (1982)

The Wild Women of Chastity Gulch

5.2

TV Movie

Writer

1982

 

She's in the Army Now (1981)

She's in the Army Now

4.5

TV Movie

Writer

1981

 

The Last Ride of the Dalton Gang (1979)

The Last Ride of the Dalton Gang

5.6

TV Movie

Writer

1979

 

Joey Aresco, Ilene Graff, and Harrison Page in Supertrain (1979)

Supertrain

4.4

TV Series

created by

creator

story by ...

1979

9 episodes

 

Bruce Boxleitner and James Arness in How the West Was Won (1976)

How the West Was Won

8.2

TV Series

written by

1977–1979

15 episodes

 

Wild and Wooly (1978)

Wild and Wooly

7.0

TV Movie

Writer

1978

 

Curse of the Black Widow (1977)

Curse of the Black Widow

5.7

TV Movie

teleplay by (as Earl Wallace)

1977

 

Tales of the Unexpected (1977)

Tales of the Unexpected

7.2

TV Series

written by (as Earl Wallace)

1977

1 episode

 

Kurt Russell and Tim Matheson in The Quest (1976)

The Quest

7.1

TV Series

writer

1976

1 episode

 

Robert Blake in Baretta (1975)

Baretta

6.7

TV Series

teleplay

1976

1 episode

 

The Blue Knight (1975)

The Blue Knight

6.9

TV Series

Writer (as Earl Wallace)

1976

1 episode

 

Jack Palance in Bronk (1975)

Bronk

6.8

TV Series

written by

1976

1 episode

 

James Arness, Amanda Blake, Milburn Stone, and Dennis Weaver in Gunsmoke (1955)

Gunsmoke

8.1

TV Series

teleplay by

written by

story by

1974–1975

7 episodes

 

Additional Crew

Robert Mitchum, Jan-Michael Vincent, John Houseman, David Dukes, and Ali MacGraw in The Winds of War (1983)

The Winds of War

8.1

TV Mini Series

story editor

1983

3 episodes

 

Jo Ann Harris, Shelly Novack, and Robert Stack in Most Wanted (1976)

Most Wanted

6.9

TV Series

executive story editor

1977

1 episode

 

Jack Palance in Bronk (1975)

Bronk

6.8

TV Series

executive story consultant

1975–1976

15 episodes

 

Script and Continuity Department

Robert Mitchum, Jan-Michael Vincent, John Houseman, David Dukes, and Ali MacGraw in The Winds of War (1983)

The Winds of War

8.1

TV Mini Series

script editor

1983

2 episodes