Budd Schulberg

(1914 - 2009)

Born in New York City, Budd Schulberg wrote the screenplays for the films On the Waterfront and A Face in the Crowd after serving with the Office of Strategic Services during and after World War II. After leaving the Communist Party, he testified to the House Un-American Activities Committee, revealing the identities of other members. At the time of his death, he was working on a screenplay about Joe Louis with Spike Lee. “I promised Budd before he died,” Lee said in a 2020 interview, “I’m gonna get that film made.”