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Robert Oxton Bolt [[UsefulNotes/KnightFever CBE]] (15 August 1924 – 21 February 1995) was a British playwright and screenwriter.

Born in Sale, Cheshire, Bolt served in the RAF during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII and spent his early years teaching English and history in Manchester. He spent the '50s writing radio plays for the BBC, before moving to the stage. His early works, ''The Last of the Wine'' and ''The Critic and the Heart'', received modest acclaim, but his breakthrough came in 1958 with ''Flowering Cherry'', which ran on London's West End starring Creator/RalphRichardson and Celia Johnson.

In 1960, Bolt had the unique honor of two of his plays running simultaneously on the West End. One was the anti-nuclear drama ''The Tiger and the Horse'', starring Creator/VanessaRedgrave and her father, Creator/MichaelRedgrave; the other was ''Theatre/AManForAllSeasons'', his classic portrait of UsefulNotes/ThomasMore featuring Creator/PaulScofield. Ironically, ''Tiger'' (which is barely remembered today) was a much bigger hit at the time, due to its stars and [[UnintentionalPeriodPiece topical subject matter]].[[note]]Indeed, ''Tiger'' was successful enough that director Muriel Box optioned it for a film adaptation, planning to use the original cast; the adaptation fell into DevelopmentHell and was never made.[[/note]]''Man'' only eclipsed it when transported to Broadway the following year.

Bolt followed ''A Man for All Seasons'' with ''Gentle Jack'', a bizarre fantasy about an office worker who gains supernatural powers from a Pan-like being. The play baffled audiences and infuriated critics; it was never performed after its disastrous 1963 run. Bolt's children's play ''Theatre/TheThwartingOfBaronBolligrew'', in contrast, was a major success, inspiring spin-off novels and a popular puppet show in Germany. However, his last two plays, ''Vivat! Vivat Regina!'' (depicting UsefulNotes/MaryOfScotland) and ''State of Revolution'' (about the [[UsefulNotes/RedOctober Russian Revolution]]), were [[SoOkayItsAverage indifferently received]].

But Bolt became better-known, and arguably more successful as a screenwriter. During the '60s, he collaborated with director Creator/DavidLean on the epics ''Film/LawrenceOfArabia'', ''Film/DoctorZhivago'' and ''Film/RyansDaughter''. He earned an UsefulNotes/AcademyAward nomination for ''Lawrence'', and won for ''Zhivago'' and the 1966 film adaptation of ''A Man for All Seasons''; their success made Bolt Hollywood's highest-paid screenwriter for over a decade. He tried directing with 1972's ''Film/LadyCarolineLamb'', which flopped. Later in his career, Bolt wrote the scripts for ''Film/TheBounty'' and ''Film/TheMission'', along with several made-for-TV movies and unrealized projects.

Bolt was an active socialist who campaigned for nuclear disarmament, among other causes; he was arrested for taking part in the Committee of 100's Trafalgar Square demonstration in September 1961, and headed the ACTT union for several years. He was partially paralyzed by a stroke in 1979. Bolt was also married three times, most famously to actress Creator/SarahMiles. His son Ben Bolt became a film and television director.

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!!Robert Bolt works on this wiki:

!!!'''Stage plays'''
* ''Theatre/AManForAllSeasons''
* ''Theatre/TheThwartingOfBaronBolligrew''

!!!'''Screenplays'''
* ''Film/LawrenceOfArabia''
* ''Film/DoctorZhivago''
* ''Film/AManForAllSeasons''
* ''Film/RyansDaughter''
* ''Film/LadyCarolineLamb'' (also directed)
* ''Film/TheBounty''
* ''Film/TheMission''

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