At the beginning of his film career, Warren also wrote stories for pulp magazines like Ace Mystery
Charles Marquis Warren (December 16, 1912 – August 11, 1990) was an American motion picture and television writer, producer, and director who specialized in Westerns. Among his notable career achievements were his involvement in creating the television series Rawhide and his work in adapting the radio series Gunsmoke for television.[1]
During his college years, he developed an interest in writing, resulting in a play entitled No Sun, No Moon, which was staged at Princeton University. Warren decided to go to Hollywood in 1933 when Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer took an option on the play. With the help of his godfather, Warren secured a position as a staff writer for the studio.
His early assignments included working on the scripts for Mutiny on the Bounty (1935) starring Charles Laughton and Clark Gable, and Top Hat (1935) with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. He made the latter film on loan out to RKO Radio Pictures. Warren eventually left Hollywood for New York City where he found success as a fiction writer for various pulp magazines. Several of his writings were published in The Saturday Evening Post. One of his Post stories, Only the Valiant, and the Argosy serial Bugles Are for Soldiers, were published as novels and became best-sellers. Bugles Are for Soldiers book length version was retitled Valley of the Shadow.
In 1941, he married Anna Crawford Tootle. They had three daughters, Anne, Jessica, and Victoria.
World War II
During World War II, Warren joined the United States Navy and served in the Photo Science Laboratory. He rose to the rank of commander and, while serving in the South Pacific in 1944, was wounded by a Japanese grenade. For his wounds and service, he received a Purple Heart, a Bronze Star and five battle stars. During his recovery at Guadalcanal, his novel Only the Valiant was purchased by Warner Bros.[2]
In 1955, CBS offered Warren the position of director and producer of Gunsmoke, a new television series based on the popular radio series of the same name and produced by Norman Macdonnell. Initially interested in only making motion pictures, Warren accepted the offer when CBS agreed to pay him $7000 per week. He produced the entire first season of the series and directed the first 26 of its 39 episodes.
Warren continued as producer for the second season of Gunsmoke but left the series in mid-season due to a difficult professional relationship with Macdonnell, the series' associate producer.
Emirau Productions
After leaving Gunsmoke, Warren returned to working in the cinema as a writer, director, and producer.
He established his own production company, Emirau Productions, named after the battle in World War II in which Warren was injured.[3]
Warren also continued working in television. In 1957, he wrote, produced, and directed an episode of the anthology seriesPlayhouse 90 entitled "Without Incident", which starred Errol Flynn.[4]
