Kurt Luedtke

Born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on September 28, 1939, Kurt Luedtke graduated with a law degree from Brown University. After being shocked by the news of the start of the civil rights movement, he decided to go into news media, enrolling at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism in Evanston, Illinois.

He first served as a reporter for “Grand Rapids,” a Michigan newspaper, and later went on to work for the Miami Herald, and the Detroit Free Press, where he became executive editor at age 33. The paper won the Pulitzer Prize for its coverage of the Detroit riots in 1968. In the late 1970s, Kurt Luedtke decided he wanted to try his luck in the world of movies, so he quit his job and moved to Hollywood. 

First, he wrote a well-rounded script about journalistic malpractice, Absence of Malice , which ended up in the hands of filmmaker Sydney Pollack . The film starring Paul Newman  and Sally Field was not only a huge box office success, but also earned Kurt Luedtke  an Oscar nomination. Pollack commissioned her to cover Karen Blixen ‘s memoirs , which led to Out of Africa , with Meryl Streep and Robert Redford . This title swept the 1968 Oscars gala, with seven statuettes, including the one relating to the script adapted for Luetdke. 

Despite everything, Luedtke remained away from the screen for 14 years, until Pollack called him again to deal with Whims of Fate (1999), which was his last job. He was married to Eleanor, whom he met because they were co-workers at the Miami Herald, who has accompanied him until his death.