Awards

President's Medal for Excellence - 1997

Private Dinner

London, England

Presenter: Myles Brand

About Elliott Baker

Born December 15, 1922, in Buffalo, New York, Elliott Baker graduated from Indiana University in 1943 with a B.S. in business. Following a short professional baseball appearance with the Cincinnati Reds, Baker joined the United States Army and served as an infantry rifleman until discharged in 1946.

His writing career began with play writing, eventually having a number of plays produced in the new medium of television on both CBS and NBC. His first novel, A FINE MADNESS, was published in 1964 by G.P. Putnam. It was subsequently made into a film with the screenplay by Elliott Baker and starring Sean Connery and Joanne Woodward.

Among his other works are: THE PENNY WARS (Putnam, 1968), which was adapted for Broadway in 1969; POCOCK & PITT (Putnam, 1971); KLYNT'S LAW (Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich, 1976); AND WE WERE YOUNG (Times Books, 1979); and UNHEALTHFUL AIR (Viking, 1988). He also produced film and television adaptations of several plays.

In 1997, Baker was honored with the President’s Medal for Excellence for making a positive and profound impact in the literary field.

He died in 2007.