Donn Pearce (b. 1928) is best known as the ex-convict who wrote Cool Hand Luke, for which he was nominated for an Academy Award. Cool Hand Luke is a 1967 American film starring Paul Newman and directed by Stuart Rosenberg. ... Although he never won an Oscar for any of his movie performances, the comedian Bob Hope received two honorary Oscars for his contributions to cinema. ...

Donald Mills Pearce left home at 15. He attempted to join the Merchant Marine at 16, but was turned away due to his age. He lied about his age, registered for the draft, and was inducted into the United States Army in 1944. Frustrated by rules he considered unecessary, he went AWOL, then three days later thought better of it and turned himself in to a Navy MP. His sentance was 30 days in the stockade. He served three days of his sentence, then was transferred to a combat infantry unit. Anticipating being sent to the front (this was during WWII), he wrote his mother a letter. She contacted the Army, informed them of his true age, and he was thrown out of the Army. By this time, he was old enough to join the Merchant Marine. US Army Seal HHC, US Army Distinctive Unit Insignia The Army is the branch of the United States armed forces that has primary responsibility for land-based military operations. ... The United States Navy (USN) is the branch of the United States armed forces responsible for naval operations. ... Combatants Allied Powers Axis Powers Commanders {{{commander1}}} {{{commander2}}} Strength {{{strength1}}} {{{strength2}}} Casualties 17 million military deaths 7 million military deaths World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a mid-20th century conflict that engulfed much of the globe and is accepted as the largest and deadliest...

The Merchant Marine took him to Venice when he was 18, to Spain, Denmark, France, Portugal and Bombay. Post-war Europe had a thriving black market, and Pearce became involved in counterfeiting American money. He attempted to pass some counterfeit bills to a police officer in Marseilles, and was arrested, tried, and sent to prison. Assigned to a work detail outside the prison grounds, Pearce escaped, making his way to the Italian border. The French officials had taken his seaman's papers, so he forged new ones and signed on a ship to Canada. He crossed from Canada into the United States, where he began a new career - burglary. A counterfeit is an imitation that is made with the intent to deceptively represent its content or origins. ...

He became a safecracker, and in 1949, at the age of twenty, he was arrested for burglary. He served two years in the Florida Department of Corrections chain gangs. In 1965 Scribners published his first novel, Cool Hand Luke, for which he later wrote the screen play of the film version. The film starred Paul Newman. Pearce made a cameo appearance as a convict named Sailor. His other books included Pier Head Jump (1972) and Dying in the Sun (1974).During the seventies and early eighties he was a freelance journalist, often contributing to magazines such as Playboy and Esquire. In 2005 he published a fourth book, Nobody Comes Back, a novel about the Battle of the Bulge. Pearce continues to live and write in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. This is a list of state prisons in Florida. ... Cool Hand Luke is a 1967 American film starring Paul Newman and directed by Stuart Rosenberg. ...

External links

• Donn Pearce at the Internet Movie Database
• Florida Department of Corrections Opens Its Official Museum
• This Was a Man (Esquire)