Motion Picture and Television Screenwriter, Producer, Author. After studying Pre-Law at the University of Wisconsin, he caught the entertainment bug and moved to Southern California, where he enrolled at UCLA and studied Theater Arts. While there, he met and became close friends with James Dean. Following Dean's fatal automobile accident, Bast wrote a biography about Dean, which was made into a TV adaptation and aired as an episode for the series "The DuPont Show of the Week" titled "The Movie Star" (1962). During the 1960s, he was busy penning stories for the programs "Ben Casey," "The Outer Limits," "Perry Mason," "The Fugitive" and "Combat!." He made his film debut as a screenwriter with "Hammerhead" (1968) and had further credits with "The Valley of Gwangi" (1969) and "The Betsy" (1976). Bast received an Edgar Allan Poe Award for his contributions to the TV-Movie "The Legend of Lizzie Borden" (1975) and earned an Emmy Award nomination for "The Man in the Iron Mask" (1977). During the 1980s, Bast created and wrote for the TV series "The Colbys" (1985 to 1987), which was a spinoff of "Dynasty." His followup biography about Dean was published in 2006 titled "Surviving James Dean." Bast died of complications from Alzheimer's disease.
Motion Picture and Television Screenwriter, Producer, Author. After studying Pre-Law at the University of Wisconsin, he caught the entertainment bug and moved to Southern California, where he enrolled at UCLA and studied Theater Arts. While there, he met and became close friends with James Dean. Following Dean's fatal automobile accident, Bast wrote a biography about Dean, which was made into a TV adaptation and aired as an episode for the series "The DuPont Show of the Week" titled "The Movie Star" (1962). During the 1960s, he was busy penning stories for the programs "Ben Casey," "The Outer Limits," "Perry Mason," "The Fugitive" and "Combat!." He made his film debut as a screenwriter with "Hammerhead" (1968) and had further credits with "The Valley of Gwangi" (1969) and "The Betsy" (1976). Bast received an Edgar Allan Poe Award for his contributions to the TV-Movie "The Legend of Lizzie Borden" (1975) and earned an Emmy Award nomination for "The Man in the Iron Mask" (1977). During the 1980s, Bast created and wrote for the TV series "The Colbys" (1985 to 1987), which was a spinoff of "Dynasty." His followup biography about Dean was published in 2006 titled "Surviving James Dean." Bast died of complications from Alzheimer's disease.
Bio by: C.S.
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