Frank Pierson

Frank Pierson
Frank Pierson in 2009
Born	Frank Romer Pierson (1925-05-12)May 12, 1925 Chappaqua, New York, U.S.
Died	July 22, 2012(2012-07-22) (aged 87) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Residence	Los Angeles, California
Nationality	American
Education	B.A. from Harvard College
Alma mater	Harvard College
Occupation	Director, screenwriter
Years active	1944 – 2012
Home town	Los Angeles, California
Spouse(s)	Helene Pierson (? – 2012; his death)
Children	2
Awards	Academy Award

Frank Romer Pierson (May 12, 1925 – July 22, 2012) was an American screenwriter and film director.

Pierson was born in Chappaqua, New York, the son of Louise (née Randall), a writer, and Harold C. Pierson. Pierson's parents, family and their lives, were the subject of the 1943 book entitled Roughly Speaking and a 1945 movie of the same name, starring Rosalind Russell and Jack Carson as his parents.

Pierson served in the military during World War II, then graduated from Harvard. He worked as a correspondent for Time and Life magazines before selling his first script to Alcoa-Goodyear Theater. He got his break in Hollywood in 1958 as script editor for Have Gun, Will Travel and moved on to write for the television series Naked City, Route 66 and others. He went on to write or co-write several notable films, including Cat Ballou and Cool Hand Luke which were both nominated for Academy Awards. He wrote Dog Day Afternoon, which won Pierson his Oscar statuette. He directed and contributed to the screenplay of A Star Is Born, and the in-fighting between himself, Barbra Streisand, Kris Kristofferson and producer (and at the time boyfriend of Streisand) Jon Peters on the film led him to write the article "My Battles with Barbra and Jon" for The Village Voice.