David Westheimer
Encyclopedia
David Westheimer was an American novelist best known for writing the 1964 novel Von Ryan's Express
which was adapted as a 1965 movie starring Frank Sinatra
and Trevor Howard
.
Westheimer, a Rice University
graduate, worked as an assistant editor for the Houston Post from 1939 to 1946 except for those years spent with the United States Army Air Forces
during World War II. As a navigator in a B-24 he was shot down over Germany and spent time as a prisoner of war
in Stalag Luft III
. His first novel, Summer on the Water, was published in 1948.
Von Ryan's Express
Von Ryan's Express is a 1965 World War II adventure film starring Frank Sinatra and Trevor Howard, based on a novel by David Westheimer, and directed by Mark Robson.-Plot:...
which was adapted as a 1965 movie starring Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
and Trevor Howard
Trevor Howard
Trevor Howard , born Trevor Wallace Howard-Smith, was an English film, stage and television actor.-Early life:...
.
Westheimer, a Rice University
Rice University
William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University or Rice, is a private research university located on a heavily wooded campus in Houston, Texas, United States...
graduate, worked as an assistant editor for the Houston Post from 1939 to 1946 except for those years spent with the United States Army Air Forces
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....
during World War II. As a navigator in a B-24 he was shot down over Germany and spent time as a prisoner of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
in Stalag Luft III
Stalag Luft III
Stalag Luft III was a Luftwaffe-run prisoner-of-war camp during World War II that housed captured air force servicemen. It was in the German Province of Lower Silesia near the town of Sagan , southeast of Berlin...
. His first novel, Summer on the Water, was published in 1948.
Fiction
- Summer on the Water, Macmillan, 1948
- The Magic Fallacy, Macmillan, 1950.
- Briefly noted in The New YorkerThe New YorkerThe New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
25/50 (4 February 1950) : 90
- Briefly noted in The New Yorker
- Watching Out for Dulie, Dodd, 1960.
- Von Ryan's ExpressVon Ryan's ExpressVon Ryan's Express is a 1965 World War II adventure film starring Frank Sinatra and Trevor Howard, based on a novel by David Westheimer, and directed by Mark Robson.-Plot:...
, Doubleday, 1964. - My Sweet CharlieMy Sweet CharlieMy Sweet Charlie is an American television movie directed by Lamont Johnson. The teleplay by Richard Levinson and William Link is based on the novel of the same name by David Westheimer. Produced by Universal Television and broadcast by NBC on January 20, 1970, it later had a brief theatrical...
, Doubleday, 1965. - Song of the Young Sentry, Little, Brown, 1968.
- Lighter than a Feather, Little, Brown, 1971.
- Over the Edge, Little, Brown, 1972.
- Going Public, Mason & Lipscomb, 1973.
- The Olmec Head, Little, Brown, 1974.
- The Avila Gold, Putnam, 1974.
- Von Ryan's Return, Coward, 1980.
- Delay en Route, 2004.