Reginald Rose
American playwright and screenwriter (1920–2002)
title: "Reginald Rose" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["american-male-screenwriters", "1920-births", "2002-deaths", "20th-century-american-male-writers", "20th-century-american-screenwriters", "screenwriters-from-new-york-(state)", "20th-century-american-dramatists-and-playwrights", "american-male-dramatists-and-playwrights"] description: "American playwright and screenwriter (1920–2002)" topic_path: "geography/united-states" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reginald_Rose" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary American playwright and screenwriter (1920–2002) ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox person"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Reginald Rose |
| image | File:Photo_of_Reginald_Rose.jpg |
| birth_date | |
| birth_place | Manhattan, New York, U.S. |
| death_date | |
| death_place | Norwalk, Connecticut, U.S. |
| years_active | 1951–1987 |
| occupation | Playwright, screenwriter |
| spouse | |
| children | 6 |
| :: |
| name = Reginald Rose | image = File:Photo_of_Reginald_Rose.jpg | alt = | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = | birth_place = Manhattan, New York, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = Norwalk, Connecticut, U.S. | nationality = | years_active = 1951–1987 | other_names = | occupation = Playwright, screenwriter | spouse = | children = 6
Reginald Rose (December 10, 1920 – April 19, 2002) was an American playwright and screenwriter. He wrote about controversial social and political issues. His realistic approach was particularly influential in the anthology programs of the 1950s.
Rose was born and raised in Manhattan. He was best known for his courtroom drama Twelve Angry Men, exploring the members of a jury in a murder trial. It was adapted for a film of the same name, directed by Sidney Lumet and released in 1957.
Early years
Reginald Rose was born in Manhattan on December 10, 1920, the son of Alice (née Obendorfer) and William Rose, a lawyer. Rose attended Townsend Harris High School and briefly attended City College (now part of the City University of New York). He served in the U.S. Army during World War II, from 1942–46, where he was promoted to first lieutenant.
Rose began trying to write when he was 15 years old and living in Harlem, but he said, "I didn't make it until I was 30." In the interim, he worked as an ad agency's copywriter, a publicist for Warner Bros,
Television
He sold Bus to Nowhere, his first teleplay, in 1951 to the live dramatic anthology program Studio One. They bought his play, Twelve Angry Men, four years later. This latter drama, set entirely in a room where a jury is deliberating the fate of a teenage boy accused of murder, was inspired by Rose's service on a similar trial. The play later was adapted as the 1957 film of the same name, directed by Sidney Lumet.
Rose said about his own jury service: "It was such an impressive, solemn setting in a great big wood-paneled courtroom, with a silver-haired judge, it knocked me out. I was overwhelmed. I was on a jury for a manslaughter case, and we got into this terrific, furious, eight-hour argument in the jury room. I was writing one-hour dramas for Studio One then, and I thought, wow, what a setting for a drama."
Rose received an Emmy for his teleplay Twelve Angry Men and an Oscar nomination for its 1957 feature-length film adaptation. From 1950 to 1960, Rose wrote for all three of the major broadcast networks. In 1961 he created and wrote for The Defenders. The weekly courtroom drama was spun off from one of Rose's episodes of Studio One. The Defenders won two Emmy awards for his dramatic writing.
Rose co-wrote the 1986 TV movie My Two Loves, starring Mariette Hartley and Lynn Redgrave.
''Twilight Zone''
His teleplay "The Incredible World of Horace Ford" was the basis for a 1963 episode of the television series The Twilight Zone. It starred Pat Hingle, Nan Martin, and Ruth White. The episode was broadcast on CBS on April 18, 1963, as Episode 15 of Season Four. The theme was how individuals glorify the past by repressing and exercising censorship of the negative aspects: we remember the good while we forget the bad. The teleplay had originally been produced in 1955 as a Studio One episode.
Films
Rose wrote screenplays for many dramas, beginning with Crime in the Streets (1956), an adaptation of his 1955 teleplay for The Elgin Hour. He made four movies with British producer Euan Lloyd: The Wild Geese, The Sea Wolves, Who Dares Wins and Wild Geese II.
Personal life and death
Rose married Barbara Langbart in 1943, with whom he had four children. After they divorced, he married Ellen McLaughlin (not the playwright and actress) in 1963, with whom he had two children.
Rose died on April 19, 2002, in a Norwalk, Connecticut, hospital, aged 81. The cause of death was complications of heart failure.
Papers
Rose's papers are housed in the Wisconsin Historical Society Archives at the Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research. The collection includes "variant drafts of scripts, correspondence, clippings, and production information". Films and tape recordings are included in addition to printed documents.
Filmography
Film
::data[format=table]
| Year | Title | Writer | Producer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1956 | Crime in the Streets | |||
| 1957 | 12 Angry Men | |||
| 1957 | Dino | |||
| 1958 | Man of the West | |||
| 1959 | The Man in the Net | |||
| 1973 | Baxter! | |||
| 1978 | The Wild Geese | |||
| 1978 | Somebody Killed Her Husband | |||
| 1980 | The Sea Wolves | |||
| 1981 | Whose Life Is It Anyway? | |||
| 1982 | The Final Option | |||
| 1985 | Wild Geese II | |||
| :: |
Television
::data[format=table]
| Year | Title | Writer | Creator | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1951 | Out There | Wrote episode "The Bus To Nowhere" | ||
| 1952–1957 | Studio One | Wrote 17 episodes | ||
| 1953 | The Revlon Mirror Theater | Wrote episode "The Enormous Radio" | ||
| 1953–1954 | Danger | Wrote 5 episodes | ||
| 1954 | The Elgin Hour | Wrote episode "Crime in the Streets" | ||
| 1955 | Goodyear Playhouse | Wrote episode "The Expendable House" | ||
| 1955 | Three Empty Rooms | Television film | ||
| 1955 | The Challenge | Television film | ||
| 1956 | The Alcoa Hour | Wrote episode "Tragedy in a Temporary Town" | ||
| 1957 | ITV Television Playhouse | Wrote episode "Thunder on Sycamore Street" | ||
| 1957 | Armchair Theatre | Wrote episode "Tragedy in a Temporary Town" | ||
| 1959 | Shell Presents | Wrote episode "Tragedy in a Temporary Town" | ||
| 1959–1960 | Playhouse 90 | Wrote episodes "A Quiet Game of Cards", "A Marriage of Strangers" and "The Cruel Day" | ||
| 1959–1960 | Sunday Showcase | Wrote episodes "A Tribute to Eleanor Roosevelt on Her Diamond Jubilee" and "The Sacco-Vanzetti Story" | ||
| 1960 | The General Motors Hour | Wrote episode "Thunder on Sycamore Street" | ||
| 1960 | Encounter | Wrote episodes "Remarkable Incident at Carson Corners" and "The Incredible World of Horace Ford" | ||
| 1961 | The Play of the Week | Wrote episode "Black Monday" | ||
| 1961 | Drama '61 | Wrote episode "The Cruel Day" | ||
| 1961–1965 | The Defenders | Wrote 132 episodes | ||
| 1962 | A Quiet Game of Cards | Television film | ||
| 1963 | BBC Sunday-Night Play | Wrote episode "The Remarkable Incident at Carson Corners" | ||
| 1963 | Suspense | Wrote episode "Thunder on Sycamore Street" | ||
| 1963 | The Twilight Zone | Wrote episode "The Incredible World of Horace Ford" | ||
| 1965 | Directions | Wrote episode "The Final Ingredient" | ||
| 1965 | Love Story | Wrote episode "A Marriage of Strangers" | ||
| 1967 | Stranger on the Run | Television film | ||
| 1967 | CBS Playhouse | Wrote episode "Dear Friends" | ||
| 1970 | Annie, the Women in the Life of a Man | Television special | ||
| 1973 | Jackanory | Wrote 3 episodes | ||
| 1974 | The Zoo Gang | 5 episodes | ||
| 1977 | The Four of Us | Television film | ||
| 1979 | Studs Lonigan | Television miniseries | ||
| 1982 | The Rules of Marriage | Television film | ||
| 1986 | My Two Loves | Television film | ||
| 1987 | Escape from Sobibor | Television film | ||
| :: |
Awards and nominations
::data[format=table] | |Year | |Award | |Work | |Category | |Result | |Note(s) | |Ref. | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | 1955 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Twelve Angry Men | Best Written Dramatic Material | | | | | 1957 | Tragedy in a Temporary Town | Best Teleplay Writing, One Hour or More | | | | | | 1958 | Academy Awards | 12 Angry Men | Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium | | | | | Best Picture (with Henry Fonda) | | | | | | | | 1958 | Edgar Awards | Best Motion Picture Screenplay | | | | | | 1958 | Writers Guild of America Awards | Best Written American Drama | | | | | | 1961 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Sacco-Vanzetti Story | Outstanding Writing Achievement in Drama | | | | | 1962 | The Defenders | Outstanding Writing Achievement in Drama | | | | | | 1963 | Outstanding Writing Achievement in Drama (with Robert Thom) | | | | | | | 1968 | Dear Friends | Outstanding Writing Achievement in Drama | | | | | | 1979 | Edgar Awards | Somebody Killed Her Husband | Best Motion Picture Screenplay | | | | | 1987 | Writers Guild of America Awards | Twelve Angry Men | Laurel Award for TV Writing Achievement | | | | | 1987 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Escape from Sobibor | Outstanding Writing in a Miniseries or a Special | | | | | 1988 | Writers Guild of America Awards | Adapted Long Form | | | | | | 1997 | CableACE Awards | 12 Angry Men | Writing a Movie or Miniseries | | | | ::
Plays
- The Porcelain Year (1950)
- Black Monday (1962)
- Twelve Angry Men (1964)
- Dear Friends (1968)
- This Agony, This Triumph (1970)
References
References
- Oliver, Myrna. (23 April 2002). "Reginald Rose, 81; Writer Honored for ’12 Angry Men’ (obituary)". [[Los Angeles Times]].
- (July 30, 1980). "He's Reginald Rose, the legendary TV dramatist". The Honolulu Advertiser.
- (August 27, 1961). "Rose Offering One for TV, Two for Stage". The Virginian-Pilot.
- "Reginald Rose".
- Vagg, Stephen. (11 September 2025). "Forgotten British Film Studios: The Rank Organisation 1982-1997".
- (April 21, 2002). "Reginald Rose, 81, TV Writer Noted for 'Twelve Angry Men'". The New York Times.
- (2008-10-24). "Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2002: Film, Television, Radio, Theatre, Dance, Music, Cartoons and Pop Culture".
- "Reginald Rose Papers, 1952-1979". University of Wisconsin Digital Collections.
- "The Defenders scripts and papers, 1960-1965".
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