Editing James Clavell (section)

==Biography==
===Early life===
Born in [[Sydney]], Australia, Clavell was the son of Commander Richard Charles Clavell (d. 23 June 1945), a [[Royal Navy]] officer who was stationed in Australia with the [[Royal Australian Navy]] from 1920 to 1922. (Richard Clavell's father was Major R.K. Clavell.) Richard Clavell was posted back to England when James was nine months old. Clavell was educated at [[The Portsmouth Grammar School]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-james-clavell-1447652.html|title = Obituary: James Clavell|website = [[Independent.co.uk]]|date = 8 September 1994 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240403184807/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-james-clavell-1447652.html |archive-date=3 April 2024 |url-status=live}}</ref>

===World War II===
In 1940, Clavell joined the [[Royal Artillery]], and received an emergency Regular Army commission as a second lieutenant on 10 May 1941.<ref>{{London Gazette| issue=35167| supp=y|page=2876|date=16 May 1941}}</ref> Though trained for desert warfare, after the [[attack on Pearl Harbor]] in December 1941 he was sent to [[Singapore]] to fight the [[Empire of Japan|Japanese]]. The ship taking his unit was sunk en route to Singapore, and the survivors were picked up by a Dutch boat fleeing to India. The commander, described by Clavell years later as a "total twit", insisted that they be dropped off at the nearest port to fight the war despite having no weapons.<ref name="Bernstein">{{cite news |last=Bernstein |first=Peter |title=Making of a Literary Shogun |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/09/13/magazine/making-of-a-literary-shogun.html |access-date=26 January 2020 |work=The New York Times Magazine|date=13 September 1981}}</ref>

==== Imprisoned in Changi ====
Shot in the face,<ref name="Bernstein"/> he was captured in [[Java]] in 1942 and sent to a local Japanese [[prisoner of war camp]]. Later, he was transferred to [[Changi Prison]] in Singapore.<ref name="NY Times obituary">{{cite news |last=Grimes |first=William |author-link=William Grimes (journalist) |date=8 September 1994 |title=James Clavell, Best-Selling Storyteller of Far Eastern Epics, Is Dead at 69 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/09/08/obituaries/james-clavell-best-selling-storyteller-of-far-eastern-epics-is-dead-at-69.html |access-date=26 January 2020 |work=The New York Times}}</ref>

In 1981, Clavell recounted:

<blockquote>Changi became my university instead of my prison. Among the inmates there were experts in all walks of life—the high and the low roads. I studied and absorbed everything I could from physics to counterfeiting, but most of all I learned the art of surviving, the most important course of all.<ref name="Bernstein"/></blockquote>

Prisoners were fed a quarter of a pound ({{Convert|0.25|lb|g|-1|disp=output only}}) of rice per day, one egg per week and occasional vegetables. Clavell believed that if atomic bombs had not been dropped on [[Hiroshima and Nagasaki]] he would not have survived the war.<ref name="Bernstein"/>

Clavell did not talk about his wartime experiences with anyone, even his wife, for 15 years after the war. For a time he carried a can of sardines in his pocket at all times and fought an urge to forage for food in rubbish bins. He also experienced bad dreams and a nervous stomach kept him awake at night.<ref name="Bernstein"/>

===Post-war career===
After the war, Clavell was promoted to war-substantive [[Lieutenant (British Army and Royal Marines)|lieutenant]], with effect from 1&nbsp;August 1942,<ref name="Army_List">{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/armylistaugpart121946grea/page/776/mode/2up |title=The Quarterly Army List (August 1946 – Part I) |date=1946 |publisher=[[HM Stationery Office]] |location=London |page=548x}}</ref> and to temporary [[Captain (British Army and Royal Marines)|captain]] on 10&nbsp;June 1946,<ref name="Army_List"/> A motorcycle [[Traffic collision|crash]], however, ended his military career. On 20 July 1948, he was officially discharged from the army on account of disability, leaving with the honorary rank of captain.<ref>{{London Gazette| issue=38355| supp=y|page=4139|date=16 July 1948}}</ref> He enrolled with the [[University of Birmingham]], where he met April Stride, an actress, whom he married in February 1949 (date of marriage sometimes given as 1951).<ref>{{cite web|title=FreeBMD Entry Info|url=http://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/information.pl?cite=JWMw7lbUOdxcx8VyTpzoRg&scan=1|work=FreeBMD|publisher=ONS|access-date=26 January 2014}}</ref> He would visit her on the film sets where she was working and began to be interested in becoming a film director.<ref name="james">{{cite news |last=Dudar |first=Helen |date=12 April 1981 |title=An author at home in Hollywood and Hong Kong |work=Chicago Tribune |page=e1}}</ref>

===Early work on films===
Clavell entered the film industry via distribution and worked at that in England for a number of years. He tried to get into producing but had no luck, so he started writing screenplays. In 1954 he moved to New York, then to Hollywood. While trying to break into screenwriting, he paid the bills working as a carpenter.<ref name="james"/>

In 1956, he sold a script about pilots to [[RKO Pictures|RKO]], ''Far Alert''.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Schallert |first=Edwin |date=19 June 1956 |title=Drama: Marine Rescue Story to Star Arness; Stage, Screen Blend Efforts |work=Los Angeles Times |page=19}}</ref> The same year [[Michael Pate]] bought a story of his, ''Forbidden Territory'', for filming.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Schallert |first=Edwin |date=9 October 1956 |title=Bon Voyage' Announced as Major Buy; 'Holiday in Monaco' Wald Film |work=Los Angeles Times |page=C11}}</ref>

Neither was filmed but ''Far Alert'' kept being sold and re-sold.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=Variety|title=Authors to 20th with RKO lapsed Far Alert|url=https://archive.org/details/variety205-1957-01/page/n403/mode/1up?|date=16 January 1957|page=11}}</ref> "In 18 months it brought in $87,000", he later said. "We kept getting paid for writing it and rewriting it as it went from one studio to another. It was wonderful."<ref name="james"/> It was later sold to [[20th Century Fox|Fox]] where it attracted the attention of [[Robert L. Lippert]], who hired Clavell to write the science-fiction horror movie ''[[The Fly (1958 film)|The Fly]]'' (1958). This became a hit and launched Clavell as a screenwriter.

He wrote ''[[Watusi (film)|Watusi]]'' (1959) for director [[Kurt Neumann (director)|Kurt Neumann]], who had also made ''The Fly''.

Clavell wrote ''[[Five Gates to Hell]]'' (1959) for Lippert, and when they could not find a suitable director, Clavell was given the job.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=esCnTSqGtUYC&q=harry+spaling+writer&pg=PA320|page=320|title=Double Feature Creature Attack: A Monster Merger of Two More Volumes of Classic Interviews|first=Tom|last=Weaver|publisher=McFarland|date=19 February 2003|isbn=9780786482153}}</ref>

[[Paramount Pictures|Paramount]] hired Clavell to write a film about the [[Mutiny on the Bounty|''Bounty'' mutineers]].<ref>{{cite news |date=27 October 1959 |title=SCHARY SUPPORTS WRITERS' STRIKE: Independent Film Producer Not Affected by Walkout Defends Pay in TV Sales |work=The New York Times |page=42}}</ref> It ended up not being made, nor was a proposed movie about [[Francis Gary Powers]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Vernon |first=Scott |date=28 May 1960 |title=U-2 Incident Causes Movie Repercussions |work=Los Ambrose Times |page=A7}}</ref> Clavell did write, produce, and direct a Western at Paramount, ''[[Walk Like a Dragon]]'' (1960).

In 1959, Clavell wrote "Moon Landing" and "First Woman in the Moon", two episodes of ''[[Men into Space]]'', a "day after tomorrow"-style science fiction drama, which depicted, in realistic terms, the (at the time) near future of [[space exploration]].

In 1960, Clavell wrote a Broadway show with [[John Sturges]], ''White Alice'', a thriller set in the Arctic.<ref>{{cite news |last=Zolotow |first=Sam |date=5 August 1960 |title=ELLIS LISTS STARS OF 'HAPPY ENDING': Ruth Chatterton, Pert Kelton and Conrad Nagel to Head Cast at New Hope, Pa. |work=The New York Times |page=13}}</ref> It was never produced. 
===Early prose and screenplay work===
In 1960, the Writers Guild went on strike, meaning Clavell was unable to work. He decided to write a novel, ''[[King Rat (Clavell novel)|King Rat]]'', based on his time at Changi. It took him three months and several more months after that to rework it. The book was published in 1962 and sold well. It was turned into [[King Rat (film)|a film in 1965]].<ref name="james"/>

In August 1960 Clavell announced he would set up his own production company, Cee Productions, to make three films: ''Unwanted'' from a novel by James Lindsay, ''Kingdom of the Mad'' and ''Earthquake''.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Cee goes indie|magazine=Variety|date=31 August 1960|url=https://archive.org/details/variety219-1960-08/page/n273/mode/1up?|page=18}}</ref> None were made. The following year Clavell announced Cee Productions would make the films ''King Rat'', ''White Alice'' and ''No Hands on the Clock''.<ref>{{cite news|title=Irwin Allen Signs Multiple Film Deal|date=June 28, 1961|work=Los Angeles Times|page=C11}}</ref>

In 1962, Clavell signed a multi picture contract with a Canadian company to produce and direct two films there, ''Circle of Greed'' and ''[[The Sweet and the Bitter (1967 film)|The Sweet and the Bitter]]''.<ref>{{cite news|title=FILMLAND EVENTS: Curtis' 'Playboy' Goes to Columbia|work=Los Angeles Times|date=Jan 11, 1962|page=B9}}</ref> Only the second was made and it was not released until 1967.

Clavell wrote scripts for the war films ''[[The Great Escape (film)|The Great Escape]]'' (1963) and ''[[633 Squadron]]'' (1964).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://librarycatalog.wgfoundation.org/award/search.ashx|title=Writers Guild Foundation Library Database|publisher=Writers Guild Foundation|access-date=9 September 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150909233535/http://librarycatalog.wgfoundation.org/award/search.ashx|archive-date=9 September 2015}}</ref>

He wrote a short story, "[[The Children's Story]]" (1963) and the script for ''[[The Satan Bug]]'' (1965), directed by John Sturges who had made ''The Great Escape''. He also wrote ''Richard Sahib'' for Sturges which was never made.<ref>{{cite news |last=Weiler |first=A.H. |author-link=A. H. Weiler |date=May 3, 1964 |title=BY WAY OF REPORT: John Sturges' 'Sahib' – Together Again |work=New York Times |page=X9}}</ref>

Clavell wanted to write a second novel because "that separates the men from the boys".<ref>{{cite news|title=AUTHOR JAMES CLAVELL: A LEGEND IN HIS OWN TIME|last=Rosenfield|first=Paul|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=19 April 1981|page=L5}}</ref> The money from ''King Rat'' enabled him to spend two years researching and then writing what became ''[[Tai-Pan (novel)|Tai-Pan]]'' (1966). It was a huge best-seller, and Clavell sold the film rights for a sizeable amount (although the film would not be made until 1986).<ref>{{cite news |last=Weiler |first=A.H. |author-link=A. H. Weiler |date=3 July 1966 |title='Tai-Pan' Means Big Novel, Big Money, Big Movie: More on Movies |work=The New York Times |page=45}}</ref>

===Leading film director===
Clavell returned to filmmaking. He wrote, produced and directed ''[[To Sir, with Love]]'' (1967), featuring [[Sidney Poitier]] and based on [[E. R. Braithwaite]]'s semiautobiographical [[To Sir, With Love (novel)|1959 book]]. It was a huge critical and commercial success.<ref name="los">{{cite news |last=Warga |first=Wayne |author-link=Wayne Warga |date=20 April 1969 |title=A Blue-Ribbon Packager of Movie Deals |work=Los Angeles Times |page=w1}}</ref>

Clavell was now in much demand as a filmmaker. He produced and directed ''[[Where's Jack?]]'' (1969), a highwayman film which was a commercial failure.<ref name="Deeley">Michael Deeley, ''Blade Runners, Deer Hunters and Blowing the Bloody Doors Off: My Life in Cult Movies'', Pegasus Books, 2009 p 43–44</ref> So too was an epic film about the [[Thirty Years' War]], ''[[The Last Valley (1971 film)|The Last Valley]]'' (1971).<ref name="variety">{{cite news|title=ABC's 5 Years of Film Production Profits & Losses|work=Variety|date=31 May 1973|page=3}}</ref>

===Career as novelist===
Clavell returned to novel writing, which was the focus of the remainder of his career. He spent three years researching and writing ''[[Shōgun (novel)|Shōgun]]'' (1975), about an Englishman who becomes a samurai in feudal Japan. It was another massive best-seller. Clavell was heavily involved in the [[Shōgun (1980 miniseries)|1980 miniseries]] which starred [[Richard Chamberlain]] and achieved huge ratings.

In the late 1970s he spent three years researching and writing his fourth novel, ''[[Noble House (novel)|Noble House]]'' (1981), set in Hong Kong in 1963. It was another best-seller and was turned into a miniseries in 1986.<ref name="author">{{cite news|title=An author at home in Hollywood and Hong Kong|last=Dudar|first=Helen|newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]] |date=12 April 1981|page=E1}}</ref>

Clavell briefly returned to filmmaking and directed a thirty-minute adaptation of his novelette ''The Children's Story''. He was meant to do a sequel to ''Shōgun'' but instead wrote a novel about the 1979 revolution in Iran, ''[[Whirlwind (novel)|Whirlwind]]'' (1986).<ref name="bully">{{cite news |last=Allemang |first=John |date=29 November 1986 |title=Clavell bullies the bullies now that he's No. 1 |work=The Globe and Mail |location=Toronto |page=E.3}}</ref>

Clavell eventually returned to the ''Shōgun'' sequel, writing ''[[Gai-Jin]]'' (1993). This was his last completed novel.

===Films===
* ''[[The Fly (1958 film)|The Fly]]'' (1958) (writer)
* ''[[Watusi (film)|Watusi]]'' (1959) (writer)
* ''[[Five Gates to Hell]]'' (1959) (writer, director and producer)
* ''[[Walk Like a Dragon]]'' (1960) (writer, director and producer)
* ''[[The Great Escape (film)|The Great Escape]]'' (1963) (co-writer)
* ''[[633 Squadron]]'' (1964) (co-writer)
* ''[[The Satan Bug]]'' (1965) (co-writer)
* ''[[King Rat (film)|King Rat]]'' (1965) (based on his novel)
* ''[[To Sir, with Love]]'' (1967) (writer, director and co-producer)
* ''[[The Sweet and the Bitter (1967 film)|The Sweet and the Bitter]]'' (1967) (writer and director)
* ''[[Where's Jack?]]'' (1968) (director and co-producer)
* ''[[The Last Valley (film)|The Last Valley]]'' (1970) (writer, director and producer)
* ''[[Shōgun (1980 miniseries)|Shōgun]]'' TV miniseries (1980) (executive producer, based on his novel)
* ''[[The Children's Story]]'' (1983) (writer and director, based on his short story)
* ''[[Tai-Pan (film)|Tai-Pan]]'' (1986) (based on his novel)
* ''[[Noble House (miniseries)|Noble House]]'' TV miniseries (1988) (executive producer, based on his novel)