Alan Trustman, ‘The Thomas Crown Affair’ and ‘Bullitt’ Screenwriter, Dies at 95

Alan Trustman, the Harvard-educated lawyer who pivoted to Hollywood and wrote the screenplays for the 1968 films “Bullitt” and “The Thomas Crown Affair,” has died. He was 95.

Trustman died Feb. 5 at a nursing home in Miami, his son John told the New York Times.

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Before entering the film industry, Trustman built a career as a corporate attorney in Boston. Born Dec. 16, 1930, in Brookline, Mass., he graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy before earning a history degree from Harvard College in 1952 and a law degree from Harvard Law School in 1955. He later joined the Boston firm Nutter, McClennen & Fish, where his father was a partner, eventually rising to partner himself.

His path to Hollywood began almost by accident. Frustrated after watching what he considered a poor film at a drive-in, Trustman challenged himself to write a better story. Working on weekends, he developed a script that became “The Thomas Crown Affair,” the stylish heist film directed by Norman Jewison and starring Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway.

Trustman soon wrote another McQueen vehicle, “Bullitt,” the San Francisco-set police thriller remembered for its famous car chase through the city’s steep streets. The film, based on the novel “Mute Witness” by Robert L. Fish, helped cement McQueen’s cool, stoic screen persona.

Trustman also wrote “They Call Me Mister Tibbs!,” a sequel to “In the Heat of the Night” starring Sidney Poitier, as well as later credits including “Lady Ice” and “Hit!”

After a relatively brief Hollywood run, Trustman later worked in business ventures, including gambling operations in Miami and currency trading in Switzerland. He also wrote the 1992 thriller novel “Father’s Day.”

He is survived by his wife, psychiatrist Dr. Barbara Buchwald, a son, a daughter and 11 grandchildren.

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