Willard Huyck
Willard Miller Huyck, Jr. (born September 8, 1945) is an American retired screenwriter, director and producer, best known for his association with George Lucas.
Willard Huyck
- Name
- Willard Huyck
- Birth Name
- Willard Miller Huyck, Jr.
- Born
- 8 September 1945
- Birthplace
- Los Angeles, California, U.S.
- Occupation
- Screenwriter, film director
- Nationality
- United States
- Education
- USC School of Cinematic Arts
- Honours
- Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Screenplay
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Willard Miller Huyck, Jr. (born September 8, 1945) is an American retired screenwriter, director and producer, best known for his association with George Lucas.
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wikidata · Q1383657 · wikipedia · Willard Huyck
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Willard Huyck • Birth Name — Willard Miller Huyck, Jr. • Born — 8 September 1945 • Birthplace — Los Angeles, California, U.S. • Occupation — Screenwriter, film director • Years Active — 1969–2008
Career
Career
Huyck and Lucas met as students at the USC School of Cinematic Arts and became members of Francis Ford Coppola's American Zoetrope group of filmmakers. Along with his wife Gloria Katz, Huyck wrote screenplays for films including American Graffiti, Lucky Lady, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Radioland Murders, and the unproduced film Night Ride Down. They also performed uncredited script polishing on the original Star Wars: Episode IV- A New Hope. Huyck also directed four films, which he co-wrote with Gloria Katz: Messiah of Evil, French Postcards, Best Defense, and Howard the Duck. The latter film received universally negative reviews at its release, but in subsequent years has become a cult classic. Katz and Huyck also wrote and produced the NBC television films A Father's Homecoming and Mothers, Daughters and Lovers. Willard Huyck is a current member of the Writers Guild of America and Directors Guild of America. In addition to their work in the film industry, Katz and Huyck are well known as art collectors, having collected Indian miniature paintings beginning in the 1970s. This collection was sold at a Sotheby's auction in New York City in 2001. In subsequent years, they amassed a collection of Japanese photography that spanned from the late 1850s to the present. This collection was acquired in 2018 by the Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art. The couple also wrote a photographic catalogue of the collection entitled "Views of Japan," designed and edited by Manfred Heiting and published by Steidl. Huyck is a member of the J. Paul Getty Museum Photography Council.
Personal life
Personal life
Huyck married Katz in 1969. They remained married until her death in 2018. They have one daughter, Rebecca, born in 1983.
Other credits
Other credits
• Year — Title — Role — Notes • 1977 — Star Wars — Script doctor — Uncredited • 1979 — More American Graffiti — Based on the characters created by • 2009 — Remembering Messiah of Evil — Special thanks — Video documentary short • 2013 — A Fuller Life — Thanks — Documentary film
Television
Television
• Year — Title — Writer — Executive producer — Notes • 1988 — A Father's Homecoming • 1989 — Mothers, Daughters and Lovers • 2008 — Secrets of a Hollywood Nurse — Also actor Role: Electronic Larynx Man
Film
• Year — Title — Director — Writer — Notes • 1968 — The Devil's 8 • 1973 — American Graffiti • 1974 — Messiah of Evil — Also uncredited producer and actor Role: Zombie in a car • 1975 — Lucky Lady • 1979 — French Postcards • 1984 — Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom • Best Defense • 1986 — Howard the Duck • 1994 — Radioland Murders
Primary material
Documents and archives
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q1383657: Willard Huyck
General reference · Wikidata
reference work
- “Willard Huyck”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Willard Huyck. The New York Times. 2014.
- 2.James, Caryn. Howard the Duck (1986) SCREEN: FROM GEORGE LUCAS, 'HOWARD THE DUCK'. The New York Times. August 1, 1986.
- 3.Ford gets the lead in 'Night Ride'. Richmond Times-Dispatch. 6. May 21, 1991.
- 4.Laurent Bouzereau. Star Wars - The Annotated Screenplays.
- 5.Star Wars: The Adventures of Luke Starkiller (Revised Fourth Draft).
- 6.Parker, Ryan. 'Howard the Duck' Turns 35: Stars Revisit Notorious Bomb Amid New Fervor for Marvel Character. The Hollywood Reporter. 2021-07-26.
- 7.Institution, Smithsonian. Gloria Katz and Willard Huyck Collection of Japanese Photographs Acquired by Smithsonian's Freer Sackler. Smithsonian Institution.
- 8.McNeil Jr., Donald G. Gloria Katz and Willard Huyck's Best Defense Against Critics Is Their Screenwriting Track Record. People. August 20, 1984.
References
Citations
References
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Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 17 August 2026.
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