15 Facts About Herman Raucher

Herman Raucher was an American author and screenwriter who penned the autobiographical screenplay and novel Summer of '42, which became one of the highest-grossing films and one of the best selling novels of the 1970s.

Herman Raucher effectively retired from writing in the 1980s after a number of projects failed to come to fruition, though his books remain in print and a remake of one of his films, Sweet November, was produced in 2001.

Herman Raucher was born in Brooklyn, New York, on April 13,1928, the son of Sophie and Benjamin Brooks Raucher.

Herman Raucher's father was a World War I veteran whom Raucher recalled as having a bayonet wound across his forehead.

Herman Raucher proved successful as an ad man, and was part of the advertising team that developed the ad campaign for the opening of Disneyland.

Herman Raucher wrote for television, with short plays being featured as segments on a number of variety shows.

Herman Raucher successfully sold the script and partnered with Melvin Van Peebles on making the film, though he was displeased with Van Peebles' desire to alter his script in order to make the picture a black power movie.

For much of his early career, Herman Raucher had attempted to sell a screenplay based on his experiences with Dorothy and Oscar Seltzer; after seven years he successfully sold the script of Summer of '42 to Robert Mulligan, who was looking to recreate the success of To Kill a Mockingbird.

Herman Raucher continued to write prolifically throughout the 1970s, ultimately publishing six novels and penning six screenplays throughout the decade.

Herman Raucher effectively retired in the 1980s, when a number of planned film projects failed to materialize, notably a film adaptation of his bestselling novel There Should Have Been Castles, a period piece about 1950s artists partially inspired by his early career, which studio executives said was too lewd to successfully market.

In 1960, Herman Raucher married Broadway dancer Mary Kathryn Martinet, with whom he had two daughters.

Herman Raucher died in Stamford, Connecticut, on December 28,2023, at the age of 95.

Herman Raucher is often credited as a ghostwriter for the film The Great Santini.

However, Herman Raucher did not work on the film, but instead was hired to write the pilot for a failed television adaptation of the film in the 1980s.

Nonetheless, Herman Raucher said that he continued to receive fan mail for The Great Santini, second only to letters for Summer of '42.