Nedrick Young (March 23, 1914 – September 16, 1968), also known by the pseudonym Nathan E. Douglas,[1] was an American actor and screenwriter often
blacklisted during the 1950s and 1960s for refusing to confirm or deny membership of the Communist Party before the
House Committee on Un-American Activities (HCUA). He is credited with writing the screenplay for Jailhouse Rock in 1957, which starred
Elvis Presley.
Young was born in Philadelphia. In addition to screenwriting, he took acting roles in various feature-length films from 1943 to 1966.
Recognition
The Defiant Ones received an
Oscar for the "best screenplay written directly for the screen" in 1958.[2] For the same film, Young and co-writer Harold Jacob Smith won a 1959
Edgar Award for Best Motion Picture Screenplay, from the
Mystery Writers of America. Inherit the Wind was also nominated for, but did not win, an Academy Award in 1960. The same year, he and others brought a law suit against the
Motion Picture Association (MPAA) for 13 years of blacklisting. The suit was not successful.[3]