Playwright, Author, Screenwriter. The son of literary agent and producer Jacob Wilk, he graduated from the Yale School of Drama in 1941 and began his career in entertainment, initially touring with Irving Berlin in his production "This is the Army". He followed this by writing training films with the First Motion Picture Unit of the US Army Air Force. In 1948 Wilk penned "Small Wonder" (1948 to 1949), the first of three Broadway plays, also including "Cloud 7" (1958) and "A Musical Jubilee" (1975 to 1976). During the 1950s, he contributed stories to numerous TV programs such as "The Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse", "Matinee Theatre", and received a Peabody and Emmy Award for the documentary "The Fabulous Fifties" (1960). He may be perhaps best remembered for his novel "Don't Raise the Bridge, Lower the River"; it was made into a 1968 motion picture adaptation starring Jerry Lewis, for which Wilk also contributed the screenplay. Among his other film script credits include "It Happened to Jane" (1959) and the animated picture "Raggedy Ann & Andy: A Musical Adventure" (1977). In addition, Wilk was known for his work as a dramatist with for the National Playwrights Conference at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center. Continue reading from Find a Grave
