Talk:Paddy Chayefsky

Ukrainian mother
In an interview (in John Bradey, "The craft of the screenwriter", 1981. Page 57) he said his mother was born in the Ukraine - I will edit accordingly. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Malick78 (talk • contribs) 16:40, 14 November 2007 (UTC)

Vanessa Redgrave and Academy Awards
I think this anecdote of the event does not fit well in the existing article. Suggest keeping it here until it can be incorporated properly.


 * During the 1978 Oscar telecast, Vanessa Redgrave made a controversial speech denouncing the "Zionist hoodlums" who had threatened her; it was a reference to threats from the Jewish Defense League, identified by the FBI as a right-wing terrorist group. Two hours later, after no one had commented on her speech, Chayefsky stated his reaction to Redgrave using the award event to make a political point: "I would like to suggest to Miss Redgrave that her winning an Academy Award is not a pivotal moment in history, does not require a proclamation and a simple 'Thank you' would have sufficed." He received loud applause for his riposte to Redgrave. Later, in an interview, he stated that he was offended by her "cracks about Jews", and "praying somebody would say something", and that he commented only because no one did.

--Wikiwatcher1 (talk) 09:12, 23 February 2010 (UTC)

That is a well-known incident and belongs in this article, but not in its current truncated state, and not at that length. Far more important aspects of his life are not even mentioned. I am going to try to expand. Figureofnine (talk • contribs) 14:09, 4 August 2019 (UTC)

"daring, uninhibited, and prophetic. No one else would have dreamed of doing it."
Currently, the article suggests that Thompson said this about The Hospital. That can't be right, can it? That is obviously a quote about Network, right? john k (talk) 06:25, 11 April 2011 (UTC)


 * Checked. It's about The Hospital. It took guts to do a satire about the medical profession. I don't think anyone else has dared to try again. --Wikiwatcher1 (talk) 07:28, 11 April 2011 (UTC)
 * Huh, weird. I just kind of assumed that prophetic + Chayefsky = Network.  john k (talk) 16:18, 12 April 2011 (UTC)

Screenplay Solo Oscars for Best Screenplay
Chayefsky is the only screenwriter who has won three solo Academy Awards for Best Screenplay. Woody Allen shared his first Best Screenplay-award ("Annie Hall") with co-writer Marshall Brickman! — Preceding unsigned comment added by Plerimest (talk • contribs) 06:00, 27 May 2012 (UTC)

non-sequitur
"The nickname was given spontaneously when Chayefsky was awakened at dawn for kitchen duty. Being Jewish, he asked to be excused from Mass."

What (if any) is the logical connection of these two sentences? Did the writer mean "Cracking a joke, the Jewish Chayefsky asked to be excused from Mass."? WilliamSommerwerck (talk) 18:22, 23 January 2016 (UTC)

Considine book
I realize the references are off re the Considine book, which someone sourced to an Amazon preview. I have the hardcover and will fix. May take a few days. Please bear with me. Figureofnine (talk • contribs) 13:47, 4 August 2019 (UTC)

Didn't take long after all. Figureofnine (talk • contribs) 14:07, 4 August 2019 (UTC)

There are sections on his plays and novel but not on his screenplays, which made him famous. I'm adding, drawing mainly on the Considine book for now. Figureofnine (talk • contribs) 13:09, 27 August 2019 (UTC)

Article main photo: Keep contemporary non-free fair use, or discard and use crop of public domain photo?
Just wondering what everyone's thoughts are on this. I noticed that Paddy's main article photo was swapped out, under a good faith edit, earlier in exchange for a crop of another photo on the article.

But this article has been edited numerous times, while this non-free fair-use photo had been in place. Reason being because the older photos were from his school portrait, and then from a side profile in the '50s. Thus, the reason on the non-free was given as "no comparable photo". As I've seen with some other articles with a non-free article main photo, they were chosen as being a "contemporary" I guess, during the height of their fame. The 1970s was when Paddy won two of his three Oscars.

So I was curious what anyone else thought about it. I wanted to speak up, rather than let the timer run out on the photo! --Cinemaniac86Dane_Cook_Hater_Extraordinaire 06:18, 31 October 2023 (UTC)