Ben Maddow

American poet, filmmaker, and novelist Benjamin Maddow was born in Passaic, New Jersey. While studying at Columbia University, he won the Knopf Prize for best student collection of verse. During World War II, Maddow made training films for the Air Force Motion Picture Unit before beginning a career in screenwriting. Maddow was known for his independence as a writer, once turning down a project because he was “just starting to write a long poem.”

After being blacklisted for suspicion of communist leanings, Maddow retired from screenwriting. He died in 1992.