Robert Thom (writer), Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

Robert Thom (writer)

American screenwriter (1929-1979)

Date of Birth: 02-Jul-1929

Place of Birth: New York City, New York, United States

Date of Death: 08-May-1979

Profession: screenwriter

Nationality: United States

Zodiac Sign: Cancer

Robert Thom (July 2, 1929 – May 8, 1979) was an American writer of films, plays, novels and poems, best known for writing the screenplay for Death Race 2000 (1975), produced by Roger Corman's New World and directed by Paul Bartel. Born Robert Flatow in Brooklyn, New York, to parents Lily Pendlebury and Julian Flatow, Thom graduated from Yale University in 1951 and went on to establish himself as a young playwriting talent in the New York City theater scene.
He sold his first play, The Minotaur, to the Circle in the Square producers, José Quintero, Ted Mann, Emilie Stevens and Jason Wingreen, in 1954.He was married to actress Joan Zell from 1953 to 1956; Zell committed suicide at Thom's home in 1961.
He married actress Janice Rule in 1956; they had one daughter, Kate, before they divorced in 1961.
Thom married actress Millie Perkins in 1964; they had two daughters, Hedy and Lillie, and were separated at the time of his death in 1979.A number of his plays, novels, and short stories were optioned and/or adapted by Thom himself for the screen, among them Wild in the Streets, based on a short story written by Thom and originally published in Esquire under the title, "The Day It All Happened, Baby!"