Background
He had virtually no contact with his father until he was 14.
screenwriter writer film producer
He had virtually no contact with his father until he was 14.
Following the war, Lansford attended college under the G.I. Bill and worked as a reporter for the Los Angeles Daily News.
He enlisted in the United States. Marine Corps in 1940 and served with the 1st Provisional Marine Brigade in Iceland, the 2nd Marine Raider Battalion on Guadalcanal, and Bougainville where he was promoted to sergeant and in the 5th Marine Division on Iwo Jima
In 1946, Lansford married actress Jean Brooks. The marriage lasted 10 years. During the Korean War he was commissioned as a United States. Army officer where he became a captain whose duties included being a radio writer with the Armed Forces Radio Service, a Public Information Officer, and a company commander.
Lansford began writing for publications in many American magazines.
He wrote several non-fiction books such as the biographies Stranger than Fiction: The Real Life Adventures of Jack London (1958) and Pancho Villa (1965). The latter was filmed as Villa Rides in 1968 with Lansford doing an early draft of the screenplay.
Lansford wrote many teleplays for American television series such as Four Star Playhouse, Wagon Train,Bonanza, The Rookies, Starsky and Hutch, CHiPs, and Star Trek: The Next Generation. He also wrote the screenplays for made for television movies depicting Jesse James (The Intruders) and Charles Whitman (The Deadly Tower).
He produced, directed, and wrote the film Adios East Los
Lansford also appeared in the documentary series The War.
Lansford died on May 22, 2013 at his Playa del Rey home. The cause was complications of prostate cancer.