PIERRE BOULLE

Pierre Boulle was a French novelist and writer from the 1950s to the 1990s. He is best known for two works, The Bridge over the River Kwai and Planet of the Apes. Both were both made into award-winning films. Boulle won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for The Bridge on the River Kwai despite not having written the screenplay. He had been credited with the screenplay because the film's actual screenwriters (Carl Foreman and Michael Wilson) had been blacklisted as communist sympathizers. Planet of the Apes grew into a massive media and merchandise franchise. Boulle passed away in 1994 at the age of 81.