Alan Trustman, the Harvard-trained lawyer who reinvented himself as a screenwriter and helped reshape American crime cinema, died on Feb. 5 in a Miami nursing home. He was 95. His son John confirmed the death.
Trustman’s best-known credits—the sleek heist drama The Thomas Crown Affair and the lean, action-driven Bullitt, both released in 1968—announced a new, economical tone in mainstream filmmaking. He favored pared-down dialogue, tight plotting and a visual momentum that put motion and mood ahead of exposition. Those choices left a lasting mark on the crime thriller and helped define Steve McQueen’s cinematic persona.
Early life and legal start
Born Dec. 16, 1930, in Brookline, Massachusetts, Trustman attended Boston Latin School and Phillips Exeter before earning his undergraduate degree at Harvard College in 1952 and his law degree from Harvard Law School in 1955. He joined the Boston firm Nutter, McClennen & Fish—where his father had been a partner—eventually becoming a partner himself and building a conventional corporate practice.
A late-night visit to a drive-in, however, set a different path in motion. Frustrated by a film he had seen, Trustman began drafting an idea in his spare hours that would grow into his first major screenplay. He kept writing between professional obligations, honing a sense for cinematic rhythm and dialogue that would translate easily to Hollywood.
From legal briefs to movie scripts
Using connections from Boston and Harvard, Trustman circulated his early treatments to producers and agents in Los Angeles. The response was quick: his crisp plotting and assured voice opened doors. He developed The Thomas Crown Affair into a polished, stylish heist picture directed by Norman Jewison and starring Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway—a film whose urbane, cerebral sensibility set it apart from the more melodramatic fare of the era.
Trustman followed with Bullitt, a film that emphasized economy and kinetic realism. He adapted the screenplay from Robert L. Fish’s novel, recommended director Peter Yates for his ability to stage dynamic pursuit sequences, and helped shape one of cinema’s most famous car chases—through the hills and streets of San Francisco. The film’s sparse dialogue and mechanical precision placed visual action at the center of storytelling and became a blueprint for future thrillers.
A varied creative life
Though the late 1960s were his most celebrated years, Trustman remained active through the 1970s. His credits include They Call Me Mister Tibbs! (1970), Lady Ice (1973), Hit! (1973), Crime and Passion (1975) and The Next Man (1976). He was at one point attached to McQueen’s Le Mans but left over creative differences—an ordinary but revealing fact of studio filmmaking, where tone and control often collide.
Trustman also adapted a Raymond Chandler story for television, took on executive-producer duties, and wrote the thriller novel Father’s Day (1992). In 1995 he returned to television with an adaptation for the anthology series Fallen Angels. Alongside those projects he taught screenwriting at institutions including Harvard, NYU and the University of Miami, passing on the hard-won lessons of structure, scene mechanics and economy of language.
Business pursuits and other interests
Outside entertainment, Trustman pursued a number of commercial ventures. He traded currency in Switzerland and was involved in gambling enterprises in Miami—activities that suggest the same analytical bent he brought to his scripts: a taste for patterns, risk and practical problem solving rather than showmanship.
Personal life
Trustman kept his private life largely out of the spotlight. He married Michelle Urry, the longtime Playboy cartoons editor, in 1989; she died in 2006. He married psychiatrist Dr. Barbara Buchwald in 2008. He is survived by his wife Barbara; his son John; his daughter Laurie; his sister Patty; and 11 grandchildren.
Trustman’s best-known credits—the sleek heist drama The Thomas Crown Affair and the lean, action-driven Bullitt, both released in 1968—announced a new, economical tone in mainstream filmmaking. He favored pared-down dialogue, tight plotting and a visual momentum that put motion and mood ahead of exposition. Those choices left a lasting mark on the crime thriller and helped define Steve McQueen’s cinematic persona.0
Trustman’s best-known credits—the sleek heist drama The Thomas Crown Affair and the lean, action-driven Bullitt, both released in 1968—announced a new, economical tone in mainstream filmmaking. He favored pared-down dialogue, tight plotting and a visual momentum that put motion and mood ahead of exposition. Those choices left a lasting mark on the crime thriller and helped define Steve McQueen’s cinematic persona.1