Wendell Mayes (July 21, 1919, Hayti, Missouri - March 28, 1992, Santa Monica, California) was a Hollywood screenwriter. His father Von Mayes was a lawyer and his mother Irene (née Haynes) was a teacher.Mayes began as an actor. An episode he wrote for the "Kraft Television Theatre" received a good review in a Los Angeles newspaper and Billy Wilder hired him to work on the script to the film The Spirit of St. Louis. That was his first credit in a successful screenwriting career.For Anatomy of a Murder, Mayes received a New York Film Critics Circle Award for best screenplay in 1959 and an Oscar nomination in 1960. It is claimed to be one of the best trial movies of all time. Mayes died of cancer at the age of 72.His screenwriting credits included:The Spirit of St. Louis (with Billy Wilder and Charles Lederer), Warner Brothers, 1957The Enemy Below, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1957The Way to the Gold, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1957From Hell to Texas (also known as Manhunt) (with Robert Buckner), Twentieth Century-Fox, 1958The Hunters, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1958The Hanging Tree (with Halsted Welles), Warner Brothers, 1959Anatomy of a Murder, Columbia, 1959North to Alaska (with John Lee Mahin, Martin Rackin, and Claude Binyon), Twentieth Century-Fox, 1960Advise and Consent, Columbia, 1962Von Ryan's Express (with Joseph Landon), Twentieth Century-Fox, 1965In Harm's Way, Paramount, 1965Hotel, Warner Brothers, 1967The Stalking Moon (with Alvin Sargent), National General Pictures,1968The Revengers, National General Pictures, 1972The Poseidon Adventure (with Stirling Silliphant), Twentieth Century-Fox, 1972Death Wish, Paramount, 1974Bank Shot, United Artists, 1974Go Tell the Spartans, Avco Embassy, 1978Love and Bullets (with John Melson), Associated Film Distribution,1979Monsignor, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1982
Wendell Mayes started out as an actor. He began writing to provide a part for himself as an actor. An episode he wrote of the Ponds Theater (1953) got such a good review in a Los Angeles paper, that Billy Wilder hired him to work on the script to The Spirit of St. Louis (1957). He went on to have a very successful writing career.
Writer
Title
Year
Status
Character
Lux Video Theatre
1951
TV Series adaptation - 1 episode
Criminal Behavior
1992
TV Movie teleplay - as Wendall Mayes
Savage in the Orient
1983
TV Movie
Monsignor
1982
screenplay
Love and Bullets
1979
story / writer
Go Tell the Spartans
1978
writer
Cellat
1975
original screenplay - uncredited
Bank Shot
1974
Death Wish
1974
screenplay
The Poseidon Adventure
1972
screenplay
The Revengers
1972
screenplay
The Stalking Moon
1968
adaptation
Hotel
1967
written for the screen by
Von Ryan's Express
1965
screenplay
In Harm's Way
1965
screenplay
Advise & Consent
1962
screenplay
Spanische Legende
1961
TV Movie
North to Alaska
1960
uncredited
Encounter
1960
TV Series writer - 1 episode
Anatomy of a Murder
1959
screenplay
The Hanging Tree
1959
screenplay
The Hunters
1958
screenplay
From Hell to Texas
1958
screenplay
The Enemy Below
1957
screenplay
The Way to the Gold
1957
screenplay
The Spirit of St. Louis
1957
screenplay
Kraft Theatre
TV Series writer - 3 episodes, 1956 - 1957 adaptation - 1 episode, 1956
Ponds Theater
1955
TV Series 1 episode
Producer
Title
Year
Status
Character
Hotel
1967
producer
Self
Title
Year
Status
Character
Preminger: Anatomy of a Filmmaker
1991
Documentary
Himself
Won Awards
Year
Award
Ceremony
Nomination
Movie
1959
NYFCC Award
New York Film Critics Circle Awards
Best Screenplay
Anatomy of a Murder (1959)
Nominated Awards
Year
Award
Ceremony
Nomination
Movie
1979
WGA Award (Screen)
Writers Guild of America, USA
Best Drama Adapted from Another Medium
Go Tell the Spartans (1978)
1960
Oscar
Academy Awards, USA
Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium