Tom Gries papers, 1931-1983

Tom Gries (1922-1977) was an American television and film writer, producer, and director. Gries was born in Chicago in December of 1922. He attended Loyola Academy and Georgetown University before beginning his entertainment career. Tom is the father of actor and director Jon Gries, and the brother of Buddy Charles, aka Charles Joseph Gries- a jazz vocalist and pianist in Chicago. Gries began working in television in the 1950s as both a writer and director. His work includes Wanted: Dead or Alive, The Westerner, The Rifleman, East Side/West Side, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Mission Impossible, Batman, etc. Tom also worked on cinematic projects in the 1950s. He wrote and directed the adventure film Serpent Island (1954) and the Korean War film Hell’s Horizon (1955). He directed the 1958 film Girl in the Woods, starring Forrest Tucker and Barton MacLane. In 1959 he wrote and directed his final film Mustang! before focusing on television work for the next decade and in 1966, Gries created the popular action-adventure series The Rat Patrol, writing the pilot episode “The Chase of Fire Raid.”

In his return to cinema, Tom wrote and directed his masterpiece – the western Will Penny starring Charlton Heston. The idea was based off an episode of The Westerner that Gries wrote and directed in 1960 – “Line Camp.” Tom made two other films with Heston – the 1969 film Number One and the 1970 drama The Hawaiians. The latter was based on James Michener’s 1959 novel, "Hawaii". In 1969 he also co-wrote and directed the controversial western 100 Rifles. In the 1970s he worked on many films including Fools, Earth II, and Lady Ice. In 1975 he also helmed two Charles Bronson films, Breakout and Breakheart Pass. His other major success came from his 1976 television film Helter Skelter based on the 1974 true-crime book detailing the Charles Manson family. In 1977, Tom Gries died during the post-production of his final film The Greatest. He was playing tennis and collapsed from a heart attack at 54 years old.