Dan Wakefield (Writing)

Kurt Vonnegut’s Indianapolis: A Writer’s Roots

He was one of the best-selling authors of the 20th Century. His books became movies. His writings became music. He became an icon. He was Kurt Vonnegut. First, though, he was just a kid from Indianapolis, whose early idyllic life turned tragic. Things got tougher in World War II, when he was captured by the Germans and survived the Dresden firebombing. He overcame all of that to become a literary lion who was both proud of--and frustrated with--his hometown. But as his friend Morley Safer said, he never lost his Hoosier roots. Narrated by NPR Anchor Steve Inskeep, A Writer's Roots talks with Kurt's family and friends, including his daughter, Nan Vonnegut, and fellow writers Morley Safer, Dan Wakefield and James Alexander Thom.

Release Date: 2015-12-28

Character: Self

Going All the Way

Korean War--era veterans and ex-classmates "Gunner" Casselman and "Sonny" Burns reunite upon their return home. Gunner, who spent the war years abroad, is trying to convince his mother that his gal Marty is good enough for him, while Sonny, who was stationed stateside, is torn between loyal Buddy and tempting Gale Ann. As they commiserate, the men realize that they're outgrowing the lives they lived before the war.

Release Date: 1997-09-19

Department: Writing

Job: Novel

Character: Farmer #2

Vote Count: 28

Quiz Show

Herbert Stempel's transformation into an unexpected television personality unfolds as he secures victory on the cherished American game show, 'Twenty-One.' However, when the show introduces the highly skilled contestant Charles Van Doren to replace Stempel, it compels Stempel to let out his frustrations and call out the show as rigged. Lawyer Richard Goodwin steps in and attempts to uncover the orchestrated deception behind the scenes.

Release Date: 1994-08-25

Character: Professor at Book Party

Vote Count: 909

The Seduction of Miss Leona

An unmarried, reclusive college teacher is torn between a married maintenance man who has been repairing her house and her former professor and lover.

Release Date: 1980-08-26

Department: Writing

Job: Teleplay

Vote Count: 1

Starting Over

After divorcing his ambitious singer wife, a middle-aged man begins a new relationship with a teacher.

Release Date: 1979-10-05

Department: Writing

Job: Novel

Vote Count: 58

James at 15

A 15-year-old whose family moves from Oregon to Boston misses the girlfriend he left behind, so he runs away to see her. On the way he hooks up with a female art student in her 20s who is also hitchhiking across the country, from whom he learns some valuable lessons about life. This was the pilot film for the two-season series.

Release Date: 1977-09-05

Department: Writing

Job: Writer

James at 16

James at 15 (later James at 16) is an American drama series that aired on NBC during the 1977–1978 season. Protagonist James Hunter is the son of a college professor who has moved his family across the country to take a teaching job, transplanting James from Oregon to Boston, Massachusetts. James has a hard time fitting into his new surroundings.

Release Date: 1977-09-05

Department: Creator

Job: Creator

Vote Count: 5