Born in Wapakoneta, Ohio. One of Hollywood's most highly regarded screenwriters of the 30s and 40s, particularly for his collaborations with director John Ford. The son of Dr. and Mrs. Grant Nichols and a graduate of Blume High School, his early interests included writing, technology and the ocean. Nichols enlisted in the U.S. Navy during World War I and received a medal for inventing a device that would enable mines to be lifted from the water without being exploded. Following his military service, he became a reporter for The New York World, then settled in Hollywood in 1929 and collaborated with such directors as Hawks, Renoir, Clair, Cukor, and Fritz Lang. He wrote, produced and directed three intelligent films in the 1940s in which the emphasis was on the spoken word rather than the moving image (GOVERNMENT GIRL, 1943, SISTER KENNY, 1946, and MOURNING BECOMES ELECTRA, 1947). He won an Academy Award for the screenplay of THE INFORMER (1935). Some of his notable non-nominated screen credits (alone or in collaboration) include MEN WITHOUT WOMEN (1930), SKYLINE (1931), THIS SPORTING AGE (1932), THE MEN WHO DARED (1933), THE LOST PATROL (1934), SHE (add'l dialogue), THE CRUSADES and THE THREE MUSKETEERS (all 1935), MARY OF SCOTLAND and THE PLOUGH AND THE STARS (both 1936), THE TOAST OF NEW YORK and THE HURRICANE (both 1937), BRINGING UP BABY and CAREFREE (story) (both 1938), GUNGA DIN and STAGECOACH (1939), MAN HUNT and SWAMP WATER (a.k.a. THE MAN WHO CAME BACK) (both 1941), THE BATTLE OF MIDWAY (1942), FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS and THIS LAND IS MINE (also producer) (both 1943), IT HAPPENED TOMORROW (1944), AND THEN THERE WERE NONE, THE BELLS OF ST. MARY'S and SCARLET STREET (all 1945), THE FUGITIVE (1947), PINKY (1949), RAWHIDE (1951), THE BIG SKY (1952), RUN FOR THE SUN (1956), THE HANGMAN (1959) and his last film, HELLER IN PINK TIGHTS (1960). Diversity was certainly the mark of Nichols' career. Here's an example of some Nichols dialogue from AIR FORCE (1943). Corporal Weinberg (George Tobias) and Crew Chief Sergeant White (Harry Carey) are looking out the airplane window, as they leave San Francisco for Hawaii, just days before the bombing of Pearl Harbor: Crew Member [offscreen]: That's an awful big town San Francisco. Weinberg: Strictly a one-whistle stop. There's only one city in the USA and that's New York. Chief Sergeant: Oh, you're just another hometown hick, Weinberg. What's wrong with California? Weinberg: California. The sun shines and nothing happens. Before you know it, you're sixty years old. Chief Sergeant: It's no different from New York. My sister's been tryin' to get out of Brooklyn for the last forty years. Weinberg: Brooklyn. That ain't New York, Chief. Once you cross that Brooklyn Bridge, you're out of this world. The only noise you hear is the hardening of your arteries. You know when I used to drive a hack, I had a pal who crossed that bridge back in 1929 and ain't never heard from him since. At the ceremonies in 1936, Nichols became the first Oscar® winner to refuse to accept his Award because of the antagonism between several industry guilds and the Academy over union matters; however, Academy records indicate he was in possession of his Award by 1949. Nichols was president of the Screen Writers Guild (1937-38), and the Writers Guild of America gave him their Laurel Award for Screen Writing Achievement in 1954.

Writing (Screenplay) 1935: THE INFORMER  Nominated for Writing (Screenplay) 1940: THE LONG VOYAGE HOME  Nominated for Writing (Original Screenplay) 1943: AIR FORCE  Nominated for Writing (Best Story & Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen) 1957: THE TIN STAR (w. Barney Slater & Joel Kane) 4 nominations, 1 Award