Chayefsky, Paddy

Chayefsky, (Sidney) Paddy

(1923–81) screenwriter, television dramatist; born in the Bronx, New York City. As a youth, he was a stand-up comic, then wrote his first play while recovering from injuries received in World War II. After the war, he began writing radio and television dramas, usually realistic depictions of the lives of ordinary people. In Hollywood, he won Oscars for his screenplays for Marty (1955), The Hospital (1971), and Network (1976). He also wrote several Broadway plays.

The Cambridge Dictionary of American Biography, by John S. Bowman. Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995. Reproduced with permission.