Peter George (author)
Peter Bryan George (26 March 1924 – 1 June 1966) was a British author, most famous for the 1958 Cold War thriller novel Red Alert, published initially with the title Two Hours To Doom with the pseudonym Peter Bryant. The book was the inspiration for Stanley Kubrick's classic movie Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.
Life
George was born during 1924 in Treorchy, Rhondda, Wales, and died in Hastings, East Sussex, England. He was a flight lieutenant and navigator for the Royal Air Force during World War II serving with No. 255 Squadron RAF, flying night fighter missions over Malta and Italy. He rejoined the RAF serving at RAF Neatishead and as a fighter controller[1] where he often wrote on duty and used a pseudonym. He retired from the service during 1961.[2]
On 1 June 1966, Peter George was found dead with a discharged double-barreled shotgun between his knees; his death was ruled a suicide.[3]
Works
His best-known novel, Red Alert was written while he was a serving RAF officer (hence the original use of a pseudonym: Peter Bryant – the Bryan being from his middle name). Drawn from personal experience, Red Alert was the inspiration for Stanley Kubrick's classic movie Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.
Interest in nuclear weapon themes, sparked by Stanley Kramer's movie version of the novel On the Beach during 1959, caused the movie rights to Red Alert to be sold that year, only to be transferred until Stanley Kubrick bought them during 1962, reportedly for as little as $3,500.
Peter George received a co-writing credit for the movie's screenplay with Kubrick and Terry Southern, though it is unclear how much involvement he actually had, and he was reportedly dissatisfied with the comedic element Kubrick applied to the material. As a co-writer, he shared a "Best Adapted Screenplay" Oscar nomination. After the movie was released, he wrote a novelisation of Dr. Strangelove and dedicated it to Kubrick. It was out of print for many years but is to be re-issued during 2015 by Candy Jar Ltd and features previously unpublished material concerning Strangelove's early career, with a foreword by George's son, David.[4]
George's final completed novel before his suicide, Commander-1, envisaged a post-apocalyptic world in which a group of survivors is tyrannized by a dictator.
Novels
- Come Blonde, Came Murder (T. V. Boardman, 1952) as "Peter George".
- Pattern Of Death (T. V. Boardman, 1954) as "Peter George".
- Cool Murder (T. V. Boardman, 1958) as "Peter George"; later reissued in paperback (Mayflower, 1965) as "Bryan Peters".
- Two Hours To Doom (T. V. Boardman, 1958) as "Peter Bryant" - later published as Red Alert (Ace, 1958)
- Hong Kong Kill (T. V. Boardman, 1958) as "Bryan Peters".
- The Big H (T. V. Boardman, 1961) as "Bryan Peters".
- The Final Steal (T. V. Boardman, 1962) as "Peter George".
- Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (Corgi, 1963) as "Peter George"; novelisation of the screenplay; dedicated to Stanley Kubrick.
- Commander-1 (Heinemann, 1965) as "Peter George".
References
- ↑ p. 10 Case, George Calling Dr. Strangelove: The Anatomy and Influence of the Kubrick Masterpiece McFarland, 7 Aug 2014
- ↑ Sikov, Ed (2003). Mr. Strangelove: A Biography of Peter Sellers. Hyperion. p. 190. ISBN 978-0-7868-8581-7. Retrieved 24 June 2009.
- ↑ Jones, Nick. "Commander-1: The Life and Death of Author Peter George, alias Peter Bryant / Bryan Peters, co-writer of Dr. Strangelove; inc. Bibliography". Existential Ennui. unk. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
- ↑ "Candy Jar Publishes Classic". Retrieved 14 October 2014.
External links
- Peter George at the Internet Movie Database
- Web site of George's son with some memorabilia of George's Two Hours to Doom (Red Alert) including the letter from Stanley Kubrick
- http://homepage.ntlworld.com/elizabeth.ercocklly/peter.htm Website detailing his life, works and suicide.
- Commander-1: The Life and Death of Author Peter George