Budd Schulberg, ‘On the Waterfront’ Screenwriter, Dies at 95

By Anahad O'Connor

Budd Schulberg, the legendary screenwriter and novelist who won an Oscar for his classic 1954 film “On the Waterfront,” has died. He was 95.

Last Word: Budd Schulberg

In a Last Word video, Mr. Schulberg reflects on his brief writing partnership with F. Scott Fitzgerald, his disenchantment with the Communist Party and his screenplay for “On the Waterfront.”

By Brent McDonald on August 5, 2009.

Mr. Schulberg, the son of a movie executive born in New York, rose to fame in the 40’s and 50’s with a succession of award-winning books and screenplays, most notably his novels “What Makes Sammy Run” (1941) and “The Harder They Fall” (1947), and the film “A Face in the Crowd” (1957). But it was “On the Waterfront” that Mr. Schulberg was best known for. The film, starring a young Marlon Brando and Eva Marie Saint, nearly swept the 1954 Academy Awards, earning eight Oscars, including one for Best Picture and another for Best Actor, which went to Mr. Brando. The film was so influential that it was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.

Mr. Schulberg lived in Westhampton Beach on Long Island and is survived by his wife, Betsy, and five children.

Update | 8:35 p.m. Mr. Schulberg’s wife, Betsy, said that her husband died at 2:30 Wednesday afternoon. She said that he was at home and was taken by ambulance to Peconic Bay Medical Center, where they tried to revive him but failed.

Read the Obituary

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Thomas Caron August 5, 2009 · 8:35 pm

I screened “On the Waterfront” last week for my Drama Class at Sino-British College here in Shanghai. I thought it best to tell them in advance that it wasn’t in color and that’s it’s not “Transformers.” I wanted them to see a good story, well acted. I told them it was about corruption (a subject every Chinese knows something about), and conscience. At the film’s conclusion, they were stunned. They’d never seen anything like. They’re still talking about it.

michael August 5, 2009 · 9:02 pm

a great liberal socialist voice lost, i hope we can step up and shed our greed to pick up the touch or great art, fair play and social responsibility.

William O’Connor August 5, 2009 · 9:05 pm

One of the truly great screen-writers.

Richard Cameron Cray August 5, 2009 · 9:12 pm

The world is a better place for Schulberg’s work, which was striking in its depth and humanity. He will remain an inspiration for generations to come.

Arlene August 5, 2009 · 9:15 pm

Speechless. One of the greats, gone. R.I.P.

Jamel Oeser-Sweat August 5, 2009 · 9:17 pm

Budd Schulberg was a great writer and his writing, especially “What Makes Sammy Run” had a great impact on my life. His passing is a loss that will be felt.

Frank Connelly August 5, 2009 · 9:18 pm

Wonderful video / intervie. Thank you very much, he will be missed.

S. Glick August 5, 2009 · 9:19 pm

RIP Budd.

LostMyGlasses August 5, 2009 · 9:22 pm

The cab scene in “On The Waterfront” is sublime cinema.
Brando captivates as usual,as does Steiger but the dialogue is crisp,entrancing and pithy.
Brando and Eva Marie with the glove–flirting,perhaps unilaterally is magnificent.I’m not sure how much of it is Kazan,the actors or Schulberg but it is impossible to turn your head away.

Mark Mezadourian August 5, 2009 · 9:33 pm

Thank you, Budd.

Citizen Mother August 5, 2009 · 9:36 pm

WHAT MAKES SAMMY RUN is now an underestimated book and a new generation (of which I’m part) should read it.

In it Schulberg told all kinds of truth about sex, work, writing, ambition, betrayal, and identity. All the fun and games of the NY/Hollywood axis (the axis of entertainment?).

I’ll leave it to others to go on and on about the very real greatness of ON THE WATERFRONT.

R.I.P.

LBJ August 5, 2009 · 9:44 pm

“And a Hearty thanks to Malcolm Johnson to say the least.” (Malcolm Johnson is the N.Y. journalist who published a series of stories about mob corruption on the waterfront in 1949, on which Budd based his screenplay. Mr Schullberg won the oscar for his writing, and Mr. Johnson won the Pulitzer Prize for his. Now…”A Face In The Crowd…”,-THAT’S A MOVIE BABY! THANKS BUDD!, WE’LL MISS YA!

Yolanda C. August 5, 2009 · 9:47 pm

“A Face in the Crowd” is one of my favorite films of all time. Budd Schulberg was an amazing writer and storyteller, and his words made history come alive for folks my age who weren’t around during the days of McCarthyism or the Cold War. His work is testimony to an era. May he rest in peace.

bruce picken August 5, 2009 · 9:53 pm

GEEZ, celebrities are dropping off like flies. schulberg certainly had a ton of classics

El Lobo Nocho August 5, 2009 · 10:09 pm

Sammy Glick, the memorable character and semitic caricature from WHAT MAKES SAMMY RUN reminds me of some of the present and former management of a certain pre-eminent cosmopolitan banking firm in New York, much in the news of late for trickery, artifice and connivance.

Thomas Caron August 6, 2009 · 4:10 am

I screened “On the Waterfront” last week for my Drama Class at Sino-British College here in Shanghai. I thought it best to tell them in advance that it wasn’t in color and that it’s not “Transformers.” I wanted them to see a good story, well acted. I told them it was about corruption (a subject every Chinese knows something about), and conscience. At the film’s conclusion, they were stunned. They’d never seen anything like. They’re still talking about it.

Larry Eisenberg August 6, 2009 · 2:38 pm

Budd named names of his Communist “friends”,
Was he justified? It all depends,
The newer the viewer
Minus marks are fewer,
Was it bad means for not-so-good-ends?