Westheimer, David Kaplan

1917 - 2005  (88 years)

• Name	Westheimer, David Kaplan  [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]
  Born	11 Apr 1917	Houston, Harris, Texas, USA   [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]
  Gender	Male
  Residence	Marital Status: Single; Relation to Head: Son  [10]
  Buried	Nov 2005	Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park   [6]
  Died	8 Nov 2005	Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA   [2, 3, 5, 6]
  Person ID	I25873	Our Family
  Last Modified	16 Jan 2024

  
  

  Father	Westheimer, Adolph,   b. 6 Jul 1876, Germany ,   d. 28 Jul 1929, Houston, Harris, Texas, USA  (Age 53 years)
  Relationship	natural
  Mother	Kaplan, Esther,   b. 25 Dec 1884, Germany ,   d. 18 Oct 1946, Houston, Harris, Texas, USA  (Age 61 years)
  Relationship	natural
  Married	5 Sep 1909	Harris County, Texas, USA   [11]
  Married	5 Sep 1909	Harris, Texas, USA   [12, 13]
  Family ID	F9749	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Rothstein, Doris Gertrude,   b. 29 Jun 1920, Houston, Harris, Texas, USA ,   d. 26 Aug 2013  (Age 93 years)
  Children	+ 1. Westheimer, Fred Kahn + 2. Westheimer, Eric
  Last Modified	16 Jan 2024
  Family ID	F9744	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Notes

  {geni:about_me} Novelist. A native Texan, he graduated from San Jacinto High school in 1933, worked for the Houston Post as a journalist from 1940 to 1960. Moving to Los Angeles to write full time, he was author of fifteen novelsand one non-fiction book. He is well known for his best sellers "Von Ryan's Express," a 1965, 20th Century Fox Oscar-nominated movie and "My Sweet Charlie," a 1966, Emmy Award television movie. In the Army Air Forces during WW II, as a navigator on a B-24 bomber that was shot down in 1942, he spent 28 months in POW camps. He also served in the Korean War and left the service as Lieutenant Colonel, recipient of an Air Medal and Distinguished Flying Cross. "The Greast Wounded Bird", is recollections of World War II, and his last novel, "Delay En Route," was published in 2002, is a lighthearted tale of an American POW. Cause of death: Heart failure Survived by wife: Dody & son: Fred D. Westheimer. -------------------- David Westheimer, who wrote the novels ''My Sweet Charlie'' and ''Von Ryan's Express,'' which was turned into a movie starring Frank Sinatra, died here on Nov. 8. He was 88. The cause was heart failure, said his son Fred. Mr. Westheimer, who was born in Houston, graduated from Rice University in 1937 and joined The Houston Post, where he was an editor and columnist. During World War II, he served in the Army Air Forces and was a navigator aboard aB-24 bomber that was shot down by Italian fighter planes. He spent 28 months as a prisoner of war and was released in 1945. He drew upon the experience and wrote ''Von Ryan's Express,'' a story about an American P.O.W. leading his fellow prisoners on a daring escape in Italy. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for best sound effects. In 1965, Mr. Westheimer wrote ''My Sweet Charlie,'' which dealt with racial tensions in a Texas town. The novel focuses on a bond that develops between a black civil rights activist and a white teenager who is pregnant but not married. ''My Sweet Charlie'' was made into a successful play, which was produced on Broadway in 1966. It was later made into a television movie that earned an Emmy Award for Patty Duke, who starred as the teenager. Mr. Westheimer's otherbooks include ''Summer on the Water,'' ''Sitting It Out'' and ''Delay En Route.'' He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Dody; his sons Fred and Eric; five grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren. -- New York Times, November 20, 2005 http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F01E1D71E3EF933A15752C1A9639C8B63

  
  

• Sources

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