“Robert Ardrey was that rarity in Hollywood, a writer who beat Hollywood and its producers, moguls, and stars at their own game of amassing power, wealth, and respect. Equally comfortable dealing with literary editors such as Bennett Cerf or moguls like Darryl F. Zanuck, he also retained his credibility in the intellectual realm by authoring texts on anthropology, history, and sociology that remain widely respected decades after their publication”
ROBERT ARDREY PLAYS
A playwright first and foremost, Robert Ardrey wrote plays that “engaged with their time” - from exploring the relationship of humans and machines in Casey Jones, to supporting civil rights with Jeb, to celebrating human potential and progress with Thunder Rock.
THUNDER ROCK
Thunder Rock, Robert Ardrey’s international classic, became a symbol of British resistance during WWII and was called by The Herald Tribune: “A cry of hope for humanity that cannot be repeated too often.”
ROBERT ARDREY MOVIES
In his second career, Robert Ardrey wrote some of Hollywood’s most famous early adaptations - and was nominated for a best original screenplay Oscar® for Khartoum.
ROBERT ARDREY’S NATURE OF MAN SERIES
International bestsellers from the moment African Genesis was first published in 1961, read the series that popularized evolution and inspired a generation, from the Apollo 8 astronauts to Arthur C. Clarke and Stanley Kubrick.
BERDINE ARDREY’S PRINTS
The illustrations of Berdine Ardrey, which have been delighting readers since the initial publications, are now available in limited-edition letterpress prints.
ABOUT ROBERT ARDREY
Born in 1908, Robert Ardrey was an American playwright and author who grew up on the South Side of Chicago. He attended the nearby University of Chicago, graduating in 1930. It was the very beginning of the Great Depression, which he writes in his autobiography “was the making of me… because it deprived me of any incentive other than to write.” While in college he had taken writing course with the then young and recently famous Thornton Wilder, who in the years ahead, more than anyone else, was his mentor. Ardrey worked at numerous unusual jobs, including pounding away at a piano in an Al Capone era speakeasy. Another was as a guide to the Mayan exhibition at the Chicago Century of Progress Exhibition, which opened in April, 1933. Meanwhile, he wrote drafts of plays and sent them to Wilder, who finally gave his approval when he felt the work was good enough to get produced on Broadway.
