Release CalendarTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV News
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb SpotlightFamily Entertainment GuideIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsCannes Film FestivalStar WarsAsian Pacific American Heritage MonthSummer Watch GuideSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • Language
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Watchlist
Sign In
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Use app
  • Biography
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

John Ball(1911-1988)

  • Writer
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Novelist John Dudley Ball was born in Schenectady, NY, in 1911, the son of a scientist. He grew up in Milwaukee, WI, and attended Wisconsin's Carroll College. After graduation he worked as a staff writer specializing in science for "Fortune" magazine, then went to work for the "Brooklyn Eagle" newspaper as a feature writer and music critic, and held a variety of jobs in the publishing and broadcasting industries. A prolific novelist, his best-known work would have to be "In the Heat of the Night" (1965), which was turned into both a successful film (In the Heat of the Night (1967)) and a successful TV series (In the Heat of the Night (1988).

He died in Encino, CA, in October of 1988.
BornJuly 8, 1911
DiedOctober 15, 1988(77)
BornJuly 8, 1911
DiedOctober 15, 1988(77)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Add photos, demo reels

Known for

Sidney Poitier, Rod Steiger, and Warren Oates in In the Heat of the Night (1967)
In the Heat of the Night
7.9
  • Writer
  • 1967
Carroll O'Connor in In the Heat of the Night (1988)
In the Heat of the Night
7.6
TV Series
  • Writer
The Organization (1971)
The Organization
6.0
  • Writer
  • 1971
Sidney Poitier in They Call Me Mister Tibbs! (1970)
They Call Me Mister Tibbs!
6.0
  • Writer
  • 1970

Credits

Edit
IMDbPro

Writer



  • Carroll O'Connor in In the Heat of the Night (1988)
    In the Heat of the Night
    7.6
    TV Series
    • based on the characters from the novel by
    • based on characters from the novel by
    • based on the characters created by
    • 1988–1995
  • The Organization (1971)
    The Organization
    6.0
    • character
    • 1971
  • Sidney Poitier in They Call Me Mister Tibbs! (1970)
    They Call Me Mister Tibbs!
    6.0
    • character
    • 1970
  • Sidney Poitier, Rod Steiger, and Warren Oates in In the Heat of the Night (1967)
    In the Heat of the Night
    7.9
    • based on a novel by
    • 1967

Personal details

Edit
  • Born
    • July 8, 1911
    • Schenectady, New York, USA
  • Died
    • October 15, 1988
    • Encino, California, USA(colon cancer)
  • Spouse
    • Nanona Maude (Patricia) HamiltonAugust 20, 1942 - September 15, 1988 (his death, 1 child)
  • Children
    • John David Ball
  • Parents
      John Dudley Ball Sr.
  • Relatives
    • Esther Catherine Ball(Sibling)
  • Other works
    Novel: "The Kiwi Target".

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    He was active in California nudist society, the setting for his second Virgil Tibbs book, "The Case of the Cool Cottontail".

Related news

Contribute to this page

Suggest an edit or add missing content
  • Learn more about contributing
Edit page

More to explore

Recently viewed

Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
Get the IMDb app
Sign in for more accessSign in for more access
Follow IMDb on social
Get the IMDb app
For Android and iOS
Get the IMDb app
  • Help
  • Site Index
  • IMDbPro
  • Box Office Mojo
  • License IMDb Data
  • Press Room
  • Advertising
  • Jobs
  • Conditions of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Your Ads Privacy Choices
IMDb, an Amazon company

© 1990-2025 by IMDb.com, Inc.