Leonard Schrader
| Leonard Schrader | |
|---|---|
| Born |
November 30, 1943 Grand Rapids, Michigan |
| Died | November 2, 2006 (aged 62) Los Angeles, California |
| Years active | 1974–2006 |
| Spouse(s) | Chieko Schrader (1977–2006) |
Leonard Schrader (November 30, 1943 – November 2, 2006) was an American screenwriter and director, most notable for his ability to write Japanese language films and for his many collaborations with his brother, Paul Schrader. He earned an Academy Award Nomination for the screenplay he wrote for the film Kiss of the Spider Woman.
Born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Schrader was brought up in a strict Dutch Calvinist family and did not see his first film until he was an adult. In 1968, he finished his MFA at the University of Iowa's Writer's Workshop where he studied with Nelson Algren, Kurt Vonnegut, Richard Yates, Robert Coover, José Donoso and Jorge Luis Borges.
After graduating, Schrader escaped Grand Rapids, the Midwest and the draft by moving to Japan to teach. (According to Peter Biskind, in his book Easy Riders, Raging Bulls, Schrader left the U.S. when he received a draft induction notice and didn't return until he was 28 years old - and thus ineligible for the draft.)
Between 1969-73 Schrader escaped even further, slipping by night into the subculture of the Yamaguchi-gumi (the dominant Yakuza gangster organization in the Kansai area of Japan, which includes Kobe, Kyoto and Osaka), while by day teaching American Literature at Doshisha University and Kyoto University.
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