Peter Viertel

It is a thinly-disguised account of Viertel's experiences working with film director John Huston while they were making The African Queen. The central character is scriptwriter Pete Verrill while the Huston character is called John Wilson. Viertel's opinion of the finished film was tempered by his idea that Huston himself would have preferred a portrayal with more sarcasm.

Of his screenwriting work for Hollywood productions, Viertel said that it was primarily a vehicle for income so that he could continue to write novels. Though he worked closely with movie professionals that he liked such as Billy Wilder and Huston, Viertel said there was always creative tension.

Viertel was twice married. His first wife was Virginia Ray "Jigee" Schulberg, the ex-wife of the novelist and screenwriter Budd Schulberg; she was pregnant with their only child, Christine, when Viertel abandoned her to live with the fashion model Bettina. His second wife was the actress Deborah Kerr (from 23 July 1960 until Kerr's death on 16 October 2007); by her, he had two stepdaughters, Melanie and Francesca Bartley. He died nineteen days after Kerr in Marbella, Spain; the cause was lymphoma. Read Less