Author, Screenwriter. Born the child of an Army cavalry officer, Lewis displayed writing talent at an early age, selling his first short story, "The Cherokee Kid's Last Stand", at 14. He joined the Marine Corps at 18, serving as a machine gunner, and earning the Bronze Star. After WWII, he returned to school, and obtained a journalism degree from the University of Iowa. Recalled to active duty to make training films, he worked on "Sands of Iwo Jima" while at Camp Pendleton; during the Korean War, his service as a combat correspondent gained him a second Bronze Star. In the years after Korea, he wrote nine novels, hundreds of magazine articles, and several Hollywood screenplays, probably the best known being "A Yank in Viet Nam" (1963). Lewis was also a frequent movie stuntman, simply because it paid better than writing; in the 1955 "Mister Roberts", he dived into the ocean from his ship, and rode a motorcycle off a pier. (Since Lewis had to turn his fee for the movie over to the Marine Corps, director John Ford arranged to pay his bar tab for a year). Recalled again to serve in Viet Nam, Lewis won his second and third Air Medals, eventually retiring from the Marine Corps Reserve at age 60. He co-founded "Gun World" magazine, and, in 2002, published his memoir "White Horse, Black Hat: A Quarter Century on Hollywood's Poverty Row". Lewis, who used "C. Jack" to distinguish himself from four other writers named Jack Lewis, died of cancer. Always known for an odd sense of humor, the disclaimer for his 1966 novel "Tell It to the Marines" states: "Any similarity to persons, places, or incidents is entirely plausible: only the names have been changed to avoid court-martial".
Author, Screenwriter. Born the child of an Army cavalry officer, Lewis displayed writing talent at an early age, selling his first short story, "The Cherokee Kid's Last Stand", at 14. He joined the Marine Corps at 18, serving as a machine gunner, and earning the Bronze Star. After WWII, he returned to school, and obtained a journalism degree from the University of Iowa. Recalled to active duty to make training films, he worked on "Sands of Iwo Jima" while at Camp Pendleton; during the Korean War, his service as a combat correspondent gained him a second Bronze Star. In the years after Korea, he wrote nine novels, hundreds of magazine articles, and several Hollywood screenplays, probably the best known being "A Yank in Viet Nam" (1963). Lewis was also a frequent movie stuntman, simply because it paid better than writing; in the 1955 "Mister Roberts", he dived into the ocean from his ship, and rode a motorcycle off a pier. (Since Lewis had to turn his fee for the movie over to the Marine Corps, director John Ford arranged to pay his bar tab for a year). Recalled again to serve in Viet Nam, Lewis won his second and third Air Medals, eventually retiring from the Marine Corps Reserve at age 60. He co-founded "Gun World" magazine, and, in 2002, published his memoir "White Horse, Black Hat: A Quarter Century on Hollywood's Poverty Row". Lewis, who used "C. Jack" to distinguish himself from four other writers named Jack Lewis, died of cancer. Always known for an odd sense of humor, the disclaimer for his 1966 novel "Tell It to the Marines" states: "Any similarity to persons, places, or incidents is entirely plausible: only the names have been changed to avoid court-martial".
Bio by: Bob Hufford
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