Meet Loring Mandel

Chicago native Loring Mandel neverimagined his profession might be writing for television. Mandel, 83,wrote his first closed-circuit radio productions for fun when he was 6years old; when he needed money for graduate courses in music atNorthwestern University, Mandel discovered he could make a living fromfun. Since the early 1950s, Mandel made a career writing for radio, TVand stage, earning numerous accolades along the way. 

According to his interview with theArchive of American Television, Mandel says he cut his teeth early onin Chicago by writing radio programs before transitioning intotelevision. Educated in writing and drama at the University ofWisconsin, Mandel soon moved to New York, where he wrote for the CBSanthologies “Studio One in Hollywood,” “The Seven Lively Arts” and“Playhouse 90,” which presented dramatic or comedic works live for abroadcast audience. He worked with actors like Paul Newman and LeeMarvin and directors such as Sidney Lumet.

While many writers sought their fortunesby relocating to California, Mandel stayed in New York. “I never wantedto move (to California) because it’s a company town,” he said in aphone interview.

He describes the culture there ascliquish, with writers only mingling with other writers. It was notrepresentative of the ordinary people he wanted to write about. “I feltI probably would have a much better fix on them by living among them(in New York) than by living in Los Angeles and getting my idea of whatpeople were like from other movies,” he said. 

As studios expanded operations beyondthe Hollywood soundstages and came back to cities like New York, Mandelsays the shrunken talent pool on the East Coast worked to hisadvantage. “A lot of the writers moved to California, but didn’t makeit. Those of us who stayed in New York worked all the time,” he said.

Although Mandel’s television workconsisted mostly of prime-time dramas, he was also the head writer ofthe daytime soap opera “Love of Life” in the early 1970s.Mandel’s bestknown and most acclaimed work to date, however, is “Conspiracy,” the2001 HBO film that inspired the Riverwalk Theatre premiere.

He says that although the film’s successwas an incredible high, it also made him a sought-after commodity. “Oneof the things that happens in this business is when you have a verysuccessful show on a particular subject, you suddenly get deluged withoffers to do things on the same subject. I was really not interested indoing more shows  (like “Conspiracy” or on the Holocaust) on that subject.  I did what I had to say on it. And I wanted to strike out on something new.” 

Over the years, his writing earned himfive Emmy nominations and two wins, the Sylvania Award, two Peabodyawards and the British Academy of Film and Television Arts award forhis original dramas. In 2004, Mandel received the Paddy ChayefskyLifetime Achievement Award at the 56th Writers Guild of America Awards. 

On his approach to writing, Mandel sayshis only motivations are whether a subject or character involves andinterests him. “I’ve been doing it all my life and it was always what Idid for fun. If I can continue to live, I want to keep doing what Ilike. Why do something else?”