1. Ernest Ralph Tidyman was an American author and screenwriter, best known for his novels featuring the African-American detective John Shaft.
16 Facts About Ernest Tidyman
1. 2.
Ernest Tidyman began his career as a copyboy in Cleveland when he was 14 years old, having dropped out of school in grade seven.
3.
Ernest Tidyman enlisted in the US Army in 1946, serving in public relations.
4.
Ernest Tidyman worked as a journalist and crime reporter for the next two decades in a number of cities, including a stint as editor of Diners Club magazine, and writing for The New York Times, New York Post, male magazines and black newspapers.
5.
Ernest Tidyman then decided to write about a black detective, Shaft.
6.
Friedkin's rewriting and credit grab annoyed Ernest Tidyman, who downplayed the director's contribution.
7.
Ernest Tidyman Productions was changed to Ernest Tidyman International, Ltd.
8.
Ernest Tidyman established Shaft Productions in 1972 to handle Shaft's sequels, Pilgrim Productions to handle Big Bucks, and Family Trouble Productions to produce an unmade film Family Trouble.
9.
Ernest Tidyman wrote the screenplay for the 1973 film High Plains Drifter, directed by and starring Clint Eastwood.
10.
Ernest Tidyman wrote the sequel to Shaft, Shaft's Big Score, which appeared in theaters in 1972.
11.
Ernest Tidyman adapted the book into a 1979 TV movie starring LeVar Burton.
12.
Ernest Tidyman co-wrote A Force of One in 1979, one of Chuck Norris's earlier films.
13.
Ernest Tidyman got up at six am and wrote for 12 hours a day.
14.
Ernest Tidyman summed up the three main elements of his craft as:.
15.
Ernest Tidyman had two sons, Ben and Nathaniel, with his third wife Ruth Rayle Tidyman.
16.
Ernest Tidyman died in 1984 in Westminster Hospital in London, England, due to a perforated ulcer and other complications.