William Broyles Jr.

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William Broyles Jr.
Born
William Dodson Broyles Jr.

(1944-10-08) October 8, 1944 (age 79)
Houston, Texas, U.S.
Alma materRice University (BA)
University of Oxford (MA)
Occupations
  • Journalist
  • Screenwriter
Children4

William Dodson Broyles Jr.[1] (born October 8, 1944) is an American journalist, screenwriter, and former United States Marine Corps officer.

He created the television series

Flags of Our Fathers (2006). His work on Apollo 13 earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay
.

Broyles' co-founded Texas Monthly magazine,[2] and served as editor of Newsweek from 1982 to 1984.

Early life

Broyles was born in

Rice Thresher. As early as 1966, Broyles was also contributing articles to the Houston Post
. Broyles served as president of the Rice student association during the 1965–1966 academic year, and was awarded the Hugh Scott Cameron award for outstanding community service. He has remained a strong supporter of the University throughout his career, delivering the commencement speech in 1983, and receiving the Distinguished Alumni Award in 1993.

After graduating from Rice, Broyles studied as a

United States Information Service. He later worked briefly for Leo Kramer, Inc., a Washington, D.C.
social sciences consulting firm as a consultant on Model Cities, Manpower, and VISTA training programs.

Military career

In 1968, Broyles's career was put on hold when he enlisted into the

Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry with Silver Star.[citation needed
]

Broyles's experiences in Vietnam inspired two of his most critically acclaimed projects. In 1984, he was one of the first veterans to return to Vietnam, and his book Brothers in Arms: A Journey from War to Peace, recounts his visit and his impressions of the aftermath of war on himself and his fellow Marines, as well as on the country he fought against in battle.[3]

In 1988, Broyles once again drew upon his memories in Vietnam when he co-created the award-winning television series,

Danang. Broyles also authored an article in Esquire "Why Men Love War".[4]

Journalist

Upon returning from Vietnam in 1971, Broyles picked up his professional career. He taught Philosophy and Political Science at the

Annapolis before returning to Texas as Chief Public Relations Officer for the Houston Independent School District. After a brief period of time in public service in Houston, Broyles was provided the opportunity to pursue his other primary interest, journalism. He became the founding editor of Texas Monthly
magazine in 1972.

Broyles's and Texas Monthly publisher

National Magazine Award
for excellence; and during Broyles's tenure it quickly gained recognition as a "writer's magazine", offering intelligent and entertaining articles on Texas life ranging from politics, culture, art, sports, the environment, social issues, and entertainment. The award-winning magazine continues today as an example of quality journalism with a regional focus and a national readership.

In 1980, Broyles and business partners, including Michael Levy, purchased New West magazine from

California. By 1982, Broyles's impressive track record in the magazine publishing world had caught the attention of Katharine Graham who recruited him to serve as editor of Newsweek magazine, replacing Lester Bernstein
. He held that position from 1982 to 1984, when he resigned to pursue other interests.

During the next few years, Broyles made one more foray into the magazine publishing world, serving as editor-in-chief of Cable Guide, but he focused primarily on developing his writing career. In addition to Brothers in Arms, he wrote a three-act play titled Boot, about three soldiers in a bunker in Vietnam joined by a new recruit that they nickname "Boot". The plot follows the four young men as they struggle to cope with the realities of war.

Screenwriter

In 1988, Broyles found critical success with the television series China Beach. In addition to co-creating the show with John Sacret Young, Broyles also wrote or co-wrote several of the early episodes, and remained producer and creative consultant throughout the run of the show. In 1991, the Golden Globe-winning China Beach went off the air, but Broyles was well into production on his second television project, Under Cover, a political espionage series following the adventures of husband-and-wife secret service agents, Dylan and Kate Del'Amico. The series was short-lived, and Broyles next adapted the Nigel Hamilton book, J.F.K.: Reckless Youth, for a 1993 television mini-series of the same name starring Patrick Dempsey as the young future president.

Also in 1993, Broyles turned his attention from television projects to writing feature films. He shares his first screenwriting credit with former Texas Monthly writer Al Reinert for

Academy Award
for best adapted screenplay.

After Apollo 13, Broyles began work on Cast Away, an original screenplay about a FedEx engineer stranded on a deserted island. Released in 2000, the film was produced by Tom Hanks, directed by Robert Zemeckis, and stars Hanks as the resilient Chuck Noland. Apollo 13 and Cast Away secured Broyles's place as an A-list Hollywood screenwriter.

Other writing credits in motion pictures include Entrapment (1999), Planet of the Apes (2001), Unfaithful (2002), The Polar Express (2004), Jarhead (2005), and Flags of Our Fathers (2006). He also assisted in the screenplay of Saving Private Ryan, though he was uncredited.[5]

Personal life

On November 5, 1988, Broyles married actress Linda Purl.[6] They later divorced.[7] His second wife was Sybil Ann Newman (later Mrs. James Raney), with whom he had two children. He married, thirdly, to Andrea Bettina Berndt. They have two daughters.[7][8]

Filmography

Year Film Credit Notes
1991 Under Cover Written by, executive producer TV movie
Before the Storm Executive producer TV movie
1995 Apollo 13 Screenplay by Co-wrote with Al Reinert
1999 Entrapment Screenplay by Co-wrote screenplay with
Ron Bass, based on a story by Ron Bass and Michael Hertzberg
; as William Broyles
2000 Cast Away Written by
2001 Planet of the Apes Screenplay by Co-wrote with Lawrence Konner & Mark Rosenthal
2002 Unfaithful Screenplay by Co-wrote with Alvin Sargent
2004 The Polar Express Screenplay by Co-wrote with Robert Zemeckis
2005 Jarhead Screenplay by As William D. Broyles Jr.
2006
Flags of our Fathers
 		Screenplay by Co-wrote with Paul Haggis
2015 McFarland, USA Uncredited rewrite[9]

See also

  • Wilson the Volleyball

References

  1. ^ a b Profile, Filmreference.com. Accessed November 28, 2022.
  2. ^ "William Broyles, Contributor at Texas Monthly". Texas Monthly. Retrieved 2023-09-19.
  3. ^ Vietnam Revisited: Conversation with William D. Broyles Jr (PDF). U.S. Marine Corps Historical Center. 1984.
  4. ^ "Why Men Love War". public.wsu.edu. Retrieved November 28, 2022.
  5. ^ William Broyles Jr., The New York Times. Accessed November 28, 2022.
  6. Colorado Springs Gazette-Telegraph
    . Colorado. p. 43. Retrieved November 5, 2020. Linda Purl was a radiant bride Saturday....
  7. ^ a b Cartwright, Gary (March 2002). "Bill Broyles, as Ever, at War". Texas Monthly. Archived from the original on November 5, 2020. He began dating Linda Purl.... After a whirlwind romance, they married and bought a home in Pacific Palisades. But the marriage didn't last. ... [H]is second wife, Sybil (the mother of his two older children)...
  8. ^ Andrea Bettina Berndt, Biographies.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2022. November 28, 2022.
  9. ^ Foreman, Liza (November 29, 2012). "William Broyles Jr. Boards Disney's McFarland (Exclusive)". TheWrap. Retrieved April 30, 2019.

Archival sources

External links

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