12 Facts About Frank Pierson

Frank Romer Pierson was an American screenwriter and film director.

Frank Pierson served in the Army during World War II, then graduated from Harvard.

Frank Pierson worked as a correspondent for Time and Life magazines before selling his first script to Alcoa-Goodyear Theater.

Frank Pierson wrote or co-wrote several successful films, including Cat Ballou and Cool Hand Luke, which were both nominated for Academy Awards.

Frank Pierson wrote Dog Day Afternoon, which won Pierson the Academy Award.

Frank Pierson directed and contributed to the screenplay of the 1976 remake of A Star Is Born; and the in-fighting between himself, Barbra Streisand, Kris Kristofferson and producer Jon Peters on the film led him to write the article "My Battles with Barbra and Jon" for The Village Voice.

Frank Pierson directed several films produced for television, including Dirty Pictures, Citizen Cohn, Conspiracy, and Somebody Has to Shoot the Picture.

Frank Pierson was President of the Writers Guild of America, West from 1981 to 1983 and again from 1993 to 1995 and was President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences from 2001 to 2005.

In 2003, Frank Pierson was the recipient of the Austin Film Festival's Distinguished Screenwriter Award.

Frank Pierson was a consultant on Mad Men, co-writing the fifth episode of its fifth season, "Signal 30", a member of the teaching staff of Sundance Institute, and artistic director of the American Film Institute.

Frank Pierson died on July 22,2012, in his home in Los Angeles, California.

Frank Pierson was survived by his wife Helene and his two children.