Ernest Tidyman
| Ernest Tidyman | |
|---|---|
| Born |
January 1, 1928 Cleveland, Ohio, United States |
| Died | July 14, 1984 (aged 56) London, England |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Nationality | American |
| Notable works |
Shaft The French Connection |
| Spouse | Chris Clark |
| Children | 2 |
Ernest Tidyman (January 1, 1928 – July 14, 1984) was a Cleveland-born American author and screenwriter, best known for his novels featuring the African-American detective John Shaft. He also co-wrote the screenplay for the film version of Shaft with John D.F. Black in 1971.
His screenplay for The French Connection garnered him an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, as well as a Golden Globe Award, a Writers Guild of America Award, and an Edgar Award.
Tidyman's father was a journalist at the Cleveland Plain Dealer. He began his career as a copyboy in Cleveland when he was fourteen, having dropped out of school in grade seven. He worked as a journalist for the next two decades in a number of cities, including a stint as editor of Diners Club magazine, and writing for The New York Times (1960–66), The New York Post (1957-60), male magazines and black newspapers. In 1968 he wrote his first novel, Flower Power about hippies. He then decided to write about a black detective, Shaft.
"Reading black fiction, you see that the central figure is either super hero or super victim, as in Styron's book. The blacks I knew were smart and sophisticated, and I thought, what about a black hero who thinks of himself as a human being, but who uses his black rage as one of his resources, along with intelligence and courage."
His novel Shaft was read by Philip d'Antoni, who hired him to write The French Connection.
"We think he has the potential to be a better than average thriller writer," said director William Friedkin. "He writes people so that an audience can define characters quickly, but then complications begin to set in." Friedkin said he rewrote much of the script "But Tidyman's name will be first" on the credits.
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