Pat Conroy (born October 26, 1945) is a New York Times bestselling author who has written several acclaimed novels and memoirs. Two of his novels, The Prince of Tides and The Great Santini, were made into Oscar-nominated films. He is recognized as a leading figure of late-20th century Southern literature.
Mike Conroy, Carol Conroy, Tom Conroy, Kathy Conroy, Jim Conroy, Tim Conroy
Awards
Anisfield-Wolf Book Award
Nominations
Academy Award for Best Writing Adapted Screenplay, Goodreads Choice Awards Best Fiction, Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay
Movies
The Prince of Tides, The Great Santini, The Lords of Discipline, The Water Is Wide
Star Sign
Scorpio
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Quote
1
I write a straight story line, and I guess that's what they need. The dialogue also seems to be serviceable in a Hollywood way. But most important, I do the thing that Southerners do naturally - I tell stories. [on his book "The Water is Wide" being made into a movie Conrack (1974)]
2
One of the greatest gifts you can get as a writer is to be born into an unhappy family. I could not have been born into a better one. I don't have to look very far for melodrama. It's all right there.
3
He signed longer inscriptions than I would. He'd write, "I hope you enjoy my son's work of fiction," and he'd underline "fiction" five or six times, and sign it, "Ol' lovable, likable Donald Conroy". [on his father attending his book signings for "The Great Santini"]
4
[Talking to his mother on her death bed] Oh, Mama, oh, mother of mine, you who opened up the universe for me with all the stuff of language, I'll make you so beautiful. Because you made me a writer and presented me the tongues and a passion for language, I can lift you off that bed, banish the cancer from your cells forever.
5
[speaking of his wife, author Cassandra King] I'll hear her cackle with laughter at some funny line she's written. I've never cackled with laughter at a single line I've ever written. None of it has given me pleasure. She writes with pleasure and joy, and I sit there in gloom and darkness.
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Fact
1
His father pressured him to accept a scholarship to the Citadel, where he earned a bachelor's degree in English in 1967.
2
His English teacher at Beaufort (SC) High School encouraged him to be a writer. Conroy returned to the school as an English teacher himself. He also taught for a year at a two-room schoolhouse on Daufuskie Island, off the South Carolina coast.
3
Because of his father's career as a Marine Corps pilot, the family moved constantly, and Pat attended 11 schools in 12 years.
Writer
Title
Year
Status
Character
The Water Is Wide
2006
TV Movie novel "The Water Is Wide"
The Prince of Tides
1991
novel "The Prince of Tides" / screenplay
Unconquered
1989
TV Movie teleplay
The Lords of Discipline
1983
novel "The Lords of Discipline"
The Great Santini
1979
novel
Conrack
1974
novel "The Water Is Wide"
Self
Title
Year
Status
Character
Margaret Mitchell: American Rebel
2012
Documentary
Himself
Tell About the South: Voices in Black and White
1998
TV Movie documentary
Himself
The Rosie O'Donnell Show
1996
TV Series
Himself
Nominated Awards
Year
Award
Ceremony
Nomination
Movie
1992
Oscar
Academy Awards, USA
Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published
The Prince of Tides (1991)
1992
USC Scripter Award
USC Scripter Award
The Prince of Tides (1991)
1992
WGA Award (Screen)
Writers Guild of America, USA
Best Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium
$5 Million
