William Rose (screenwriter)


William Rose was an American screenwriter of British and Hollywood films.

Life and career

Although born in Jefferson City, Missouri, Rose traveled to Canada after the 1939 outbreak of World War II and volunteered to fight overseas with the Black Watch. After being stationed at bases in Scotland and Europe, he returned to live in Britain at war's end to work as a screenwriter, marrying an English woman, Tania Price, with whom he would later collaborate.
Blessed with the ability to adapt to two distinct cultures, William Rose wrote a number of successful British comedies including Genevieve. He became a working associate of the American-born director, Alexander Mackendrick, notably for their collaboration on The Maggie and The Ladykillers. He also provided scripts for Hollywood studios, earning several Academy Award nominations for his scriptwriting and winning the Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay for Guess Who's Coming to Dinner. Rose also won the Writers Guild of America award for Best Written American Comedy for The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming.
In 1973, Rose's lifetime achievements were recognized by the Writers Guild of America with their Laurel Award for Screenwriting Achievement. In the 1970s, he had a brief relationship with Katharine Hepburn.
William Rose died in 1987 in Jersey, Channel Islands. He is buried in the Churchyard at St. Clement Parish Church, Jersey. William and Tania divorced; she died in 2015 aged 95.

Screenwriting awards

Wins