James Clavell

Biography: In addition to writing best-selling epics, historical novels and successful screenplays for feature films and television, James Clavell also directs. Born in Australia, Clavell served as a captain with the British Royal Artillery; he spent much of the war interred in a Japanese POW camp. This experience became the basis for his novel King Rat which was turned into a successful film by director Bryan Forbes in 1965. Later, he worked as a salesman before entering a deal to write a television pilot; this deal lead him to the U.S. in 1953. By 1958, he was writing screenplays, and in 1959, he made his directorial debut. As a director, Clavell's most successful film was To Sir With Love (1967). On television he is probably best known for the mini-series adaptation (by a different director) of his epic novel Shogun (1975), a film which is still frequently shown on cable television.