Robert Garland obit

Robert Garland, ‘No Way Out’ and ‘The Electric Horseman’ Writer, Dies at 83

 

He was not on the list.

Robert Warner Garland, a Hollywood screenwriter and producer who wrote “No Way Out” and “The Electric Horseman,” died on Saturday in Baltimore, Md., due to complications from dementia, according to his son. He was 83.

Garland was born on May 1, 1937, in Brooklyn, N.Y., and attended St. John’s College in Annapolis, Md. One of his first jobs in the industry was as a talent coordinator for “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson” in 1969, and he soon became a writer and helped prepare Carson’s nightly monologues.

In addition to “The Tonight Show,” Garland also wrote for several sitcoms, such as “That Girl,” “The Bill Cosby Show,” “Love American Style,” “The Bob Newhart Show” and “Sanford and Son.”

In the film industry, he wrote the 1979 film “The Electric Horseman,” directed by Sidney Pollack and starring Robert Redford and Jane Fonda. The film was a box office success, earning $62 million from a $12.5 million budget and becoming the eleventh highest-grossing film of 1979. After working together on “The Electric Horseman,” Garland and Pollack had a close relationship and collaborated on “Tootsie,” though Garland was uncredited.

Garland wrote and produced “No Way Out,” directed by Roger Donaldson in 1987 and starring Kevin Costner, Gene Hackman and Sean Young. He also wrote “The Big Blue” by director Luc Besson and an early draft of “The Fifth Element,” also by Besson. Throughout his career, Garland was hired to write a large number of scripts that went unproduced, such as a sequel to the 1956 film “Giant,” and he was also uncredited on “Pretty Woman” starring Richard Gere and Julia Roberts.

Garland was a member of the Writers Guild of America. After living in Los Angeles and New York for work, he retired from screenwriting in the 1990s and lived in several places around the world, including Paris, France; Liguria, Italy; and Key West, Fla. He was admired for his encyclopedic knowledge of art and history, and he would often write scripts longhand or dictate them.

He is survived by his son Michael, an attorney in Washington, DC; his daughter-in-law Hedda Garland; and grandsons Jonah and Felix.

Writer

The Big Blue (1988)

The Big Blue

7.5

screenplay

1988

 

Kevin Costner, Gene Hackman, and Sean Young in No Way Out (1987)

No Way Out

7.1

screen storyscreenplay

1987

 

Sigourney Weaver, Chevy Chase, and Gregory Hines in Deal of the Century (1983)

Deal of the Century

4.7

Writer (uncredited)

1983

 

Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983)

Twilight Zone: The Movie

6.5

Writer (uncredited)

1983

 

Dustin Hoffman in Tootsie (1982)

Tootsie

7.4

Writer (uncredited)

1982

 

Steve Martin: Comedy Is Not Pretty (1980)

Steve Martin: Comedy Is Not Pretty

7.3

TV Special

Writer

1980

 

The Electric Horseman (1979)

The Electric Horseman

6.4

screen story byscreenplay by

1979

 

Last Hours Before Morning (1975)

Last Hours Before Morning

5.5

TV Movie

Writer

1975

 

Redd Foxx and Demond Wilson in Sanford and Son (1972)

Sanford and Son

7.9

TV Series

written by (as Bob Garlund)

1975

2 episodes

 

The Bob Newhart Show (1972)

The Bob Newhart Show

8.1

TV Series

story by

1974

1 episode

 

Love, American Style (1969)

Love, American Style

6.8

TV Series

Writer (as Bob Garland)

1973

2 episodes

 

ABC Comedy News (1973)

ABC Comedy News

7.0

TV Series

written bywriter (as Bob Garland)

1972–1973

2 episodes

 

Love is... Barbara Eden

TV Movie

Writer

1972

 

The Funny Side

6.3

TV Series

writer (as Bob Garland)

1971

1 episode

 

The Bill Cosby Show (1969)

The Bill Cosby Show

6.1

TV Series

written by (as Bob Garland)

1971

2 episodes

 

That Girl (1966)

That Girl

7.3

TV Series

written by (as Bob Garland)

1970

1 episode

 

Actor

Zane Grey Theatre (1956)

Zane Grey Theatre

7.5

TV Series

Lucas

1960

1 episode

 

Producer

Kevin Costner, Gene Hackman, and Sean Young in No Way Out (1987)

No Way Out

7.1

producer

1987

 

Jose Jiminez Discovers America

TV Movie

associate producer

1968

 

Script and Continuity Department

Richard Gere and Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman (1990)

Pretty Woman

7.1

script revisions (uncredited)

1990

 

Sean Connery in The Hunt for Red October (1990)

The Hunt for Red October

7.5

script revisions (uncredited)

1990

 

Kevin Costner and Madeleine Stowe in Revenge (1990)

Revenge

6.2

script revisions (uncredited)

1990

 

Additional Crew

Johnny Carson in The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962)

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

8.5

TV Series

talent coordinator

1969

1 episode