User:Strategyisking/Barry H. Pollack

Barry H. Pollack is an accomplished writer, director, filmmaker, and physician. His debut novel about genetic research by the American government to create a fearless next-generation soldier, Forty-Eight X: The Lemuria Project, was published by Medallion Press in December 2009.

Barry Pollack was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Jewish parents and in 1967 became a cadet at the United States Air Force Academy at the height of the Vietnam War. Disenchanted with the war and the military lifestyle, Pollack resigned from the USAFA and then enrolled and subsequently graduated from Penn State. Leaving the east coast for California, Pollack received a Master's degree in film from Stanford University and made several documentary shorts (Some of My Best Friends are Bottomless Dancers) leading to his acceptance as a writing-directing fellow at the new American Film Institute in Los Angeles.

Spending a summer researching a new documentary on traveling carnivals and “carnie folk”, Pollack came to know nearly every “freak” in the United States - the two-headed man, the fat lady, the pin cushion man, midgets and giants. As a result, when a friend of Pollack's was hired by Roger Corman to write the remake of a movie called Freaks, he was hired as the casting director. That opportunity then branched into the chance to write the remake of John Huston's Asphalt Jungle and turn it into a "black" film. In the era of black exploitation films like Shaft and Cleopatra Jones, Pollack became the white "black exploitation" writer-director of the MGM film Cool Breeze in 1972. Pollack's sophomore movie effort was a film called This is a Hijack which he claims as being one of the "top ten" worst pictures in the history of cinema.

Pollack graduated from the University of Oklahoma Medical School in 1980 and held a brief residency at Los Angeles County USC Medical Center. Pollack subsequently began working as an emergency physician which is an occupation he continues to this day.

Pollack's other writing credits include several prime time television dramas like Trapper John, M.D. and Hotel, various magazine short stories, several unproduced screenplays, and almost ten years of columns for the Ventura County California STAR newspapers (Biography stories, Travel Stories, and Medical stories).

Pollack is currently seeking a publisher and agent for his next novel, Oil and God; a sort of “Jewish DiVinci Code”.

A list of his accomplishments and various stories can be found at http://www.barrypollack.net/

Film Credits This Is a Hijack (1973)

A gambler who can't pay his debts makes a deal with his creditors to hijack his boss’ plane. Unfortunately, the plan doesn't work out quite as expected.

Genre: Action/Adventure and Crime/Gangster Running Time: 1 h. 30 min. MPAA Rating: PG Distributor: Fanfare Starring: Adam Roarke, Neville Brand, Jay Robinson, Lynn Borden Directed by: Barry Pollack Written by: Barry Pollack Produced by: Joe Solomon and Paul Lewis ---

Cool Breeze (1972) Based on W.R. Burnett’s novel The Asphalt Jungle, a crime story with its lead character, Sidney Lord Jones, masterminding a jewel heist – all in the name of the people. Genre: Crime/Gangster and Adaptation Running Time: 1 hr. 41 min. MPAA Rating: R Distributor: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Starring: Thalmus Rasulala, Judy Pace, Jim Watkins, Raymond St. Jacques Directed by: Barry Pollack Written by: Barry Pollack

Television Credits Trapper John, M.D. Medical television drama, spin-off of the film MASH, about a lovable doctor who becomes a mentor and father figure, running a teaching hospital in San Francisco. The series ran on CBS from September 1979 through September 1986.

(Episode number and Title) 95. FAT CHANCE Against his better judgment, Trapper agrees to staple the stomach of an obese woman. Gonzo goes to unusual lengths to save Andrea's dog. Director: Susan Oliver Writer: Barry Howard Pollack Guest Stars: Shirley Hemphill, Michael Tucci, Sandy Helberg, Anne Francis

108. IT'S ABOUT TIME When his office ends up as a temporary storage dump for medical equipment from the WWI era, Trapper imagines how routine cases would have been treated at that time, and decides that SFM isn't quite a dinosaur after all. Director: Leo Penn Writer: Barry Howard Pollack Guest Stars: Stoney Jackson, Silvana Gallardo, Kario Salem, Jonathan Goldsmith, Alan Oppenheimer, Victor Arnold

111. A CHANGE OF HEART The heart of a brain-dead hockey player could save a twelve-year-old boy who needs a transplant, but the lawyer for the man who injured the player in a game gets an injunction saying that Gonzo cannot pronounce him legally dead. Director: Michael Caffey Writer: Barry H. Pollack Guest Stars: Jason Presson, Hunter von Leer, Jack Andreozzi, Lincoln Kilpatrick

126. BAD BREAKS A young child brought to the hospital with a broken leg turns out to have had several previous fractures, causing the doctors to suspect that he has been abused. Stanley tries to withdraw his deposit to a sperm bank after he finds out that E.J. is opposed to them. Director: Walter Grauman Teleplay: Barry H. Pollack, John Whelpley Story: Barry H. Pollack Guest Stars: Lance Kerwin, Lynnette Mettey, Freddye Chapman, Stuart Pankin, Karlene Crockett, Marcia Rodd

129. IN THE EYES OF THE BEHOLDER The parents of a boy who died after a car crash sue the hospital. The story of what happened when the boy was brought in is then told from the point of view of the father, Trapper, J.T. and another patient. Director: Arthur Allan Seidelman Writer: Barry H. Pollack Guest Stars: Richard Alfieri, Joanna Barnes, Marta Kristen, Allan Rich, William Wintersole

137. JUST AROUND THE CORONER J.T. is working in pathology for a month, and comes across a case that looks like a surgical error. The surgeon was Trapper, who puts himself on suspension pending a review by the board then breaks his own rules when a woman requires emergency surgery. Director: Leo Penn Writer: Barry Howard Pollack Guest Stars: Barbara Rhoades, Devon Ericson, Jonathan Goldsmith, Billy Drago, Dennis Burkley

151. STRANGE BEDFELLOWS Stanley is impressed that Jesus has gotten a job as an orderly, and seems to be "going straight". But when the teen is admitted for stomach pains, it turns out that the cause is the drug-filled balloons he swallowed. J.T. is elected the intern representative to the hospital board, and discovers that there is more involved than free doughnuts. Director: Charles Siebert Writer: Barry H. Pollack Guest Stars: Roxie Roker, Jesse D. Goins, Stewart Wilson-Turner, Israel Juarbe

Hotel Prime time drama series which aired on ABC from September 1983 to May 1988. Based on Arthur Hailey's 1965 novel of the same name. Produced by Aaron Spelling and set in the elegant and fictitious S. Gregory Hotel in San Francisco. Episodes followed the activities of passing guests as well as the staff. Writer, story - 2 episodes

Documentary Credits Some of My Best Friends are Bottomless Dancers The story of Bert Balladine, a choreography of belly dancers and strippers. San Francisco Film Festival, 1970 Producer, Director, Editor

Frankenstein in a Fishbowl The story of two women, one rich and attractive, the other poorer and plainer, who each seek impossible goals through plastic surgery. American Film Institute Prod., 1971 Producer, Director, Editor

It's a Camp Documentary short which presents the way and philosophy of life of a homosexual transvestite. Foothill College Independent Filmmakers Festival, 1969 Producer, Director, Editor http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-Ar9WH3_kA