Trumbo, Dalton

Trumbo, (James) Dalton (1905–76) screenwriter, writer; born in Montrose, Colo. A former newspaperman, he began screenwriting in 1935. As one of the Hollywood Ten during the Communist witch hunt of the late 1940s, he spent ten months in jail, then moved to Mexico; during the period when he was blacklisted, he wrote 18 screenplays under pseudonyms, one of which, The Brave One (1956), won an Oscar for "Robert Rich". In 1960 his real name was allowed back on the credits for such films as Spartacus and Exodus. In 1971 he wrote and directed the film of his own antiwar novel, Johnny Got His Gun (1939).