- James Dalessandro
James Dalessandro is a novelist and screenwriter. He currently resides in
San Francisco .He is best know for his novel "1906" (Chronicle Books, 2004, 2005), a story based on the events surrounding the great San Francisco earthquake and fire of 1906.
A film adaptation of "1906" is in development, being co-produced by
Warner Bros. and Pixar Animation Studios, in asscociation withWalt Disney Pictures . [http://pixarblog.blogspot.com/2008/03/1906-to-be-pixarwarner-bros.html ]Biography
James Dalessandro was born in
Cleveland, Ohio on September 3, 1948, and attended Valley Forge High School. He was educated atOhio University , inAthens, Ohio , and studied film and screenwriting at UCLA. He worked as a writer in the trailer/marketing department atColumbia Pictures , working on dozens of films.From 1973-77, he was co-founder of The
Santa Cruz Poetry Festival , with Lawrence Ferlinghetti, and served as its director for four years. The nation's largest annual literary festival, it broughtCharles Bukowski ,William Burroughs ,Ken Kesey ,Gary Snyder ,Allen Ginsberg ,Michael McClure , and musicians like Charles Lloyd andAnthony Braxton to the seaside town of Santa Cruz, setting attendance records (2,000 plus per night) at the Civic Auditorium, ushering in what Lawrence Ferlinghetti called "a new birth of American Poetry."He was also the writer of "The House of Blues Radio Hour" hosted by
Dan Aykroyd (as Elwood Blues), and writer/creator of "Rock On" with Doors' keyboardistRay Manzarek , both for Ben Manilla Productions of San Francisco.James Dalessandro has published four books, "Canary In A Coal Mine" (poetry), "Bohemian Heart" (detective fiction), "Citizen Jane" (true crime) and "1906" (historical fiction). He is also the writer/director of the award winning documentary film, "The Damnedest, Finest Ruins".
Current status
He teaches screenwriting at the Academy of Arts University in San Francisco, and "Screenwriting as a Pro" at Fort Mason Art Center, and lectures at Cinequest Film Festival and L.A. Screenwriting Expo.
He is married, since 1988, to the former Katie Callies of Edgar, Wisconsin. They have an adopted son, Chris Katevas.
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
