Stirling Silliphant

Stirling Dale Silliphant (January 16, 1918 – April 26, 1996) was an American screenwriter and producer. He is best remembered for his screenplay for In the Heat of the Night, for which he won an Academy Award in 1967, and for creating the television series Naked City, Perry Mason, and Route 66. Other features as screenwriter include the Irwin Allen productions The Towering Inferno and The Poseidon Adventure. Early life, family and education Born in Detroit, Michigan, Stirling Silliphant was the son of Lemuel L. Silliphant, a Canadian who immigrated to the United States in 1911, becoming a US citizen in 1916. His mother was Ethel M. Silliphant. He had one brother, Leigh, who was three years younger. The family moved to Glendale, California when the brothers were young. He graduated from Hoover High School and subsequently, from the University of Southern California. Career Silliphant was a film and television writer with more than 700 hours of prime-time television drama to his credit, many of which earned Emmys for their producers, directors, and cast members. However, he never received an Emmy personally as writer. Time in 1967 referred to him in a feature article with the statement: "The moving finger...having written, moved on!"