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Robert Buckner was one of those individuals who flourished under the strictures of the studio system. He came to Hollywood highly qualified, holding degrees from the Universities of Virginia and Edinburgh and from the Ecole Polytechnique in Paris. His work history was also amazingly diverse. He had at one time been an English teacher, a courier, a tour guide, writer for the Daily Mail and London correspondent for the New York World. At the end of his lengthy sojourn in Britain, he returned to the U.S. and was for three years engaged by various publishing and advertising agencies. The busy Mr. Buckner still found sufficient time to write plays on and off-Broadway, and numerous short stories and magazine articles, one of which (for Atlantic Monthly) led to a lucrative contract with Warner Brothers in 1937.
Before long, Buckner had evolved into one of the most sought-after writers of screenplays for Warners typical fast-paced, fast-talking, tough action subjects, often starring Errol Flynn or James Cagney. He was handed several prestige assignments, including Santa Fe Trail (1940), Dive Bomber (1941) and Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942). The resulting box-office success was rewarded with a promotion to producer and further hits with Gentleman Jim (1942) and Life with Father (1947). After leaving Warner Brothers in 1948, Buckner moved to Universal and rounded out his career in 1955 as a free-lance author of teleplays and novels ("Tiger by the Tail", Moon Pilot", "Starfire").- Robert Latimer Buckner was born along the banks of the Arkansas River at Pine Bluff on 16 March, 1903, to Walter D. and May Latimer Buckner. He grew up in Memphis, Tennessee, where his father served as dean of St. Mary's Episcopal Cathedral.
After graduating from the University of the South at Sewanee, Tennessee, Buckner attended acting classes at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York. Later he toured with the repertoire companies of Jane Cowl and Grace George before making his Broadway debut in the late 1920s.
In 1930 his play, "An Affair of State" failed at the box office, but the following year, "Portrait of a Lady", faired much better, as did several other plays he wrote during the 30s. His biggest success came in 1939 with "The Primrose Path" which was written with Walter Hart and was produced by George Abbott.
In 1939 Buckner sued Paramount Pictures and his former writing partner Charles Beahan over the release of the film Midnight (1934). Buckner claimed that Paramount got the idea for the film from a play entitled, "Dearly Beloved," that he and Beahan had written and later submitted to Paramount for their consideration. Buckner named Beahan in the action because he refused to join him as a plaintiff.
When the World War broke out Buckner joined the US Navy and served with the Seabees in the Pacific Theater. After the war he wrote scripts for a number of films and television shows.
On occasion the press would confuse Robert L. Buckner's name with that of Robert Buckner, a Hollywood screenwriter who was his contemporary.
Robert Latimer Buckner passed away on 24 January, 1961, at Veterans Hospital in New York after a lengthy illness. He was survived by his wife, Mary Jean Buckner, a son and two daughters. He is interned at the Long Island National Cemetery in Farmingdale, New York.