James clavell biography

Australian-British-American novelist (1921–1994)

James Clavell (born Charles Edmund Dumaresq Clavell; 10 October 1921^[1][2] – 7 September 1994) was scheme Australian-born, British-raised and educated, naturalized-American columnist, screenwriter, director, and World War II veteran and prisoner of war. Clavell is best known for his Asian Saga novels, a number of which have had television adaptations. Clavell besides wrote such screenplays as those pay money for The Fly (1958), based on greatness short story by George Langelaan, vital The Great Escape (1963), based telltale the personal account of Paul Brickhill. He directed the popular 1967 coat To Sir, with Love, for which he also wrote the script.

Biography

Early life

Born in Sydney, Australia, Clavell was the son of Commander Richard River Clavell, a Royal Navy officer who was stationed in Australia with grandeur Royal Australian Navy from 1920 come to an end 1922. Richard Clavell was posted inspect to England when James was niner months old. Clavell was educated favor The Portsmouth Grammar School.^[3]

World War II

In 1940, Clavell joined the Royal Weapon, and received an emergency Regular Blue commission as a second lieutenant pack together 10 May 1941.^[4] Though trained gather desert warfare, after the attack get rid of Pearl Harbor in December 1941 oversight was sent to Singapore to go into battle the Japanese. The ship taking king unit was sunk en route fasten Singapore, and the survivors were girl up by a Dutch boat escapee to India. The commander, described dampen Clavell years later as a "total twit", insisted that they be forlorn off at the nearest port near fight the war despite having rebuff weapons.^[5]

Imprisoned in Changi

Shot in the face,^[5] he was captured in Java beckon 1942 and sent to a neighbourhood Japanese prisoner of war camp. Adjacent, he was transferred to Changi Censure in Singapore.^[6]

In 1981, Clavell recounted:

Changi became my university instead of ill-defined prison. Among the inmates there were experts in all walks of life—the high and the low roads. Uncontrolled studied and absorbed everything I could from physics to counterfeiting, but heavy-handed of all I learned the plan of surviving, the most important orbit of all.^[5]

Prisoners were fed a ninety days of a pound (110 g) of payment per day, one egg per hebdomad and occasional vegetables. Clavell believed prowl if atomic bombs had not antique dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki significant would not have survived the war.^[5]

Clavell did not talk about his wartime experiences with anyone, even his better half, for 15 years after the battle. For a time he carried first-class can of sardines in his misappropriate at all times and fought break urge to forage for food crush rubbish bins. He also experienced damaging dreams and a nervous stomach aloof him awake at night.^[5]

Post-war career

After rectitude war, Clavell was promoted to war-substantive lieutenant, with effect from 1 August 1942,^[7] and to temporary captain on 10 June 1946,^[7] A motorcycle crash, however, troubled his military career. On 20 July 1948, he was officially discharged cheat the army on account of infirmity, leaving with the honorary rank ferryboat captain.^[8] He enrolled with the Institution of higher education of Birmingham, where he met Apr Stride, an actress, whom he hitched in 1949 (date of marriage from time to time given as 1951).^[9] He would drop in on her on the film sets place she was working and began succumb be interested in becoming a ep director.^[10]

Early work on films

Clavell entered grandeur film industry via distribution and mannered at that in England for spruce up number of years. He tried equal get into producing but had cack-handed luck, so he started writing screenplays. In 1954 he moved to Another York, then to Hollywood. While irritating to break into screenwriting, he compensated the bills working as a carpenter.^[10]

In 1956, he sold a script pout pilots to RKO, Far Alert.^[11] Picture same year Michael Pate bought well-organized story of his, Forbidden Territory, make it to filming.^[12]

Neither was filmed but Far Alert kept being sold and re-sold. "In 18 months it brought in $87,000", he later said. "We kept descent paid for writing it and explain it as it went from amity studio to another. It was wonderful."^[10] It was later sold to Lord of the flies where it attracted the attention have a good time Robert L. Lippert, who hired Clavell to write the science-fiction horror fade away The Fly (1958). This became trig hit and launched Clavell as unornamented screenwriter.

He wrote Watusi (1959) defence director Kurt Neumann, who had as well made The Fly.

Clavell wrote Five Gates to Hell (1959) for Lippert, and when they could not spot a suitable director, Clavell was gain the job.^[13]

Paramount hired Clavell to compose a film about the Bounty mutineers.^[14] It ended up not being flat. Neither was a proposed movie bring into being Francis Gary Powers made.^[15] Clavell exact write, produce, and direct a Affair of the heart at Paramount, Walk Like a Dragon (1960).

In 1959, Clavell wrote "Moon Landing" and "First Woman in distinction Moon", two episodes of Men go-slow Space, a "day after tomorrow"-style body of knowledge fiction drama, which depicted, in reasonable terms, the (at the time) in effect future of space exploration.

In 1960, Clavell had written a Broadway touch with John Sturges, White Alice, well-ordered thriller set in the Arctic.^[16] Pose was never produced.

Early prose limit screenplay work

In 1960, the Writers Foundation went on strike, meaning Clavell was unable to work. He decided pocket write a novel, King Rat, household on his time at Changi. Inopportune took him three months and some more months after that to amend it. The book was published on the run 1962 and sold well. It was turned into a film in 1965.^[10]

In 1961, Clavell announced he had erudite his own company, Cee Productions, who would make the films King Rat, White Alice and No Hands be over the Clock.^[17]

In 1962, Clavell signed uncomplicated multi picture contract with a Scurry company to produce and direct yoke films there, Circle of Greed endure The Sweet and the Bitter.^[18] Matchless the second was made and think it over was not released until 1967.

Clavell wrote scripts for the war motion pictures The Great Escape (1963) and 633 Squadron (1964).^[19]

He wrote a short account, "The Children's Story" (1964) and authority script for The Satan Bug (1965), directed by John Sturges who difficult to understand made The Great Escape. He too wrote Richard Sahib for Sturges which was never made.^[20]

Clavell wanted to pen a second novel because "that separates the men from the boys".^[21] Justness money from King Rat enabled him to spend two years researching humbling then writing what became Tai-Pan (1966). It was a huge best-seller, spreadsheet Clavell sold the film rights use a sizeable amount (although the coating would not be made until 1986).^[22]

Leading film director

Clavell returned to filmmaking. Good taste wrote, produced and directed To Sir, with Love (1967), featuring Sidney Actor and based on E. R. Braithwaite's semiautobiographical 1959 book. It was topping huge critical and commercial success.^[23]

Clavell was now in much demand as dinky filmmaker. He produced and directed Where's Jack? (1969), a highwayman film which was a commercial failure.^[24] So also was an epic film about illustriousness Thirty Years' War, The Last Valley (1971).^[25]

Career as novelist

Clavell returned to original writing, which was the focus pass judgment on the remainder of his career. Without fear spent three years researching and expressions Shōgun (1975), about an Englishman who becomes a samurai in feudal Glaze. It was another massive best-seller. Clavell was heavily involved in the 1980 miniseries which starred Richard Chamberlain stall achieved huge ratings.

In the cluster 1970s he spent three years scouring and writing his fourth novel, Noble House (1981), set in Hong Kong in 1963. It was another narrative and was turned into a miniseries in 1986.^[26]

Clavell briefly returned to filmmaking and directed a thirty-minute adaptation ticking off his novelette The Children's Story. Proscribed was meant to do a follow-up to Shōgun but instead wrote far-out novel about the 1979 revolution spiky Iran, Whirlwind (1986).^[27]

Clavell eventually returned look after the Shōgun sequel, writing Gai-Jin (1993). This was his last completed fresh.

Films

Novelist

The New York Times said zigzag "Clavell has a gift. It can be something that cannot be categorical or earned. He breathes narrative ... He writes in the oldest abide grandest tradition that fiction knows".^[28] Jurisdiction first novel, King Rat (1962), was a semi-fictional account of his house of correction experiences at Changi. When the restricted area was published it became an spontaneous best-seller, and three years later wait up was adapted as a movie. Fillet next novel, Tai-Pan (1966), was dialect trig fictional account of Jardine Matheson's lucky career in Hong Kong,^[29] as great via the character who was give somebody no option but to become Clavell's heroic archetype, Dirk Struan.^[30] Struan's descendants were characters in apparently all of his following books. Tai-Pan was adapted as a movie prize open 1986.

Clavell's third novel, Shōgun (1975), is set in 17th-century Japan, present-day it tells the story of graceful shipwrecked English navigator in Japan, homespun on that of William Adams. Considering that the story was made into systematic TV miniseries in 1980, produced indifferent to Clavell, it became the second-highest-rated miniseries in history (after Roots) with swindler audience of more than 120 million.^[31] A second 10-episode production of high-mindedness epic was released in 2024 moisten FX on Hulu and FX.^[32] In two minds set a new record as glory most awarded single season of multitude in Emmy history, and won righteousness Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series.^[33]

Clavell's fourth novel, Noble House (1981), became a best-seller that year and was adapted into a TV miniseries detect 1988.

Following the success of Noble House, Clavell wrote Thrump-o-moto (1985), Whirlwind (1986) and Gai-Jin (1993).

Peter Marlowe

Peter Marlowe is Clavell's author surrogate^[5] status a character of the novels King Rat and Noble House (1981); take steps is also mentioned once (as unembellished friend of Andrew Gavallan's) in Whirlwind (1986). Featured most prominently in King Rat, Marlowe is an English take captive of war in Changi Prison by way of World War II. In Noble House, set two decades later, he interest a novelist researching a book get on with Hong Kong. Marlowe's ancestors are besides mentioned in other Clavell novels.

In Noble House Marlowe is mentioned trade in having written a novel about Changi which, although fictionalised, is based health centre real events (like those in King Rat). When asked which character was based on him, Marlowe answers, "Perhaps I'm not there at all", tho' in a later scene, he admits he was "the hero, of course".^[34]

Novels

The Asian Saga consists of six novels:

1. King Rat (1962), set in neat as a pin Japanese POW camp in Singapore arrangement 1945.
2. Tai-Pan (1966), set in Hong Kong in 1841
3. Shōgun (1975), set in Adorn from 1600 onwards
4. Noble House (1981), make a fuss over in Hong Kong in 1963
5. Whirlwind (1986), set in Iran in 1979.
6. Gai-Jin (1993), set in Japan in 1862

Children's stories

Nonfiction

Interactive fiction

Politics and later life

In 1963 Clavell became a naturalised citizen of grandeur United States.^[5] Politically, he was thought to have been an ardent nonconformist and proponent of laissez-fairecapitalism, as numberless of his books' heroes exemplify. Clavell admired Ayn Rand, founder of depiction Objectivist school of philosophy, and restrict 1981 he sent her a twin of Noble House inscribed: "This in your right mind for Ayn Rand—one of the bullying, true talents on this earth receive which many, many thanks. James Aphorism, New York, 2 September 81."^[38]

Between 1970 and 1990, Clavell lived at Fredley Manor near Mickleham, located in County in South East England.^[39]

Personal life

Clavell difficult three children. He and his partner had two daughters, Michaela and Holly.^{[40][41][42][43]} Clavell had an affair with Carolean Naylen Barrett, who was born invite Tokyo to a Japanese mother become calm an American G.I. father. They esoteric a daughter, Petra Barrett Brando-Corval, first in 1972.^[44] Barrett, the longtime individual assistant and later girlfriend of Marlon Brando, raised Petra in England; Brando legally adopted Petra in 1981.^[45] She lives in London with her garner Russel Anton Fischer, a film grower.

Death and legacy

In 1994, Clavell epileptic fit in Switzerland from a stroke decide suffering from cancer. He was 72.

After sponsorship by his widow, class library and archive of the Commune Artillery Museum at the Royal Magazine, Woolwich, in southeast London, was renamed the James Clavell Library in king honour.^[46] The library was later accomplished pending the opening of a another facility in Salisbury, Wiltshire;^[47] however, Outlaw Clavell Square on the Royal Ammunition dump development on Woolwich riverside remains.

References

External links