| Worked as a correspondent for Time and Life magazines |
1943 | Served with U.S. Army |
1962 | Entered show business as story editor of TV series "Have Gun Will Travel" (CBS); later served as producer and director for the show |
1965 | Co-wrote first produced screenplay "Cat Ballou"; received first Academy Award nomination |
1967 | Contributed to the script for "Cool Hand Luke"; shared Academy Award nomination |
1970 | Directed first feature "The Looking Glass War"; also wrote screenplay |
1971 | Directed the award-winning NBC TV-movie "Neon Ceiling" |
1975 | Won Oscar for solo screenwriting effort "Dog Day Afternoon" |
1976 | Collaborated on the screenplay and directed the Barbra Streisand vehicle "A Star Is Born" |
1978 | Penned screenply adaptation and directed "King of the Gypsies" |
1980 | Wrote the teleplay for the above average CBS TV biopic "Haywire," based on the memoirs of Brooke Hayward, the daughter of agent Leland Hayward and actress Margaret Sullavan |
1981 | Served as president of the Writers Guild of America |
1989 | Returned to features as collaborator on the screenplay for the Vietnam-era drama "In Country" |
1990 | Collaborated with director Alan J. Pakula on the script for "Presumed Innocent," the feature based on Scott Turow's bestselling novel |
1990 | Directed the HBO movie "Somebody Has to Shoot the Picture" |
1992 | Helmed the acclaimed HBO biopic "Citizen Cohn," starring James Woods; received Emmy nomination |
1993 | Returned as WGA president |
1994 | Directed the TNT original "Lakota Woman: Siege at Wounded Knee" |
1995 | Helmed the highly-praised HBO biographical drama "Truman," starring Gary Sinise |
2000 | Reteamed with James Woods in the docudrama "Dirty Pictures" (Showtime), about the famed incident wherein the director of the Cincinnati Contemporary Arts Center booked an exhibition of controversial photographs by Robert Mapplethorpe and was then indicted for indecency |
2001 | Announced as writer and director of "The Last of the Savages"; in development as of summer 2001 |
2001 | Elected president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences; held position for the maximum four consecutive terms |
2001 | Garnered Emmy nomination for direction of "Conspiracy" (HBO), a docudrama about the Wanasee Conference wherein the Nazis outlined The Final Solution |
2003 | Directed the acclaimed Showtime movie "Soldier's Girl," based on a true story; film starred Troy Garity and Lee Pace |
2004 | Directed David Strathairn and Barbara Hershey in the TV drama "Paradise" |
2009 | Was consulting producer on AMC's "Mad Men"; also wrote the "Signal 30" episode in 2012 |
2010 | Returned to TV series writing with an episode of "The Good Wife" (CBS) |
