Biopic Screenwriter Stephen J. Rivele Dead At 75

Known for his work in screenplays such as Nixon and Ali, writer Stephen J. Rivele died at 75 on May 17 in his home in Pasadena, California, although no cause of his death has been revealed. His death was confirmed by his son Eli to The Hollywood Reporter, but it wasn’t until almost two weeks after his death that it was announced and confirmed.

Born May 6, 1949, in Philadelphia, Rivele has focused on the film industry since his youth. He made history at the Paris Film Conservatory, becoming the first American student to be accepted and study there. He would go on to study with French director Éric Rohmer at the University of Paris.

It wasn’t until the mid-1990s that Rivele would go on to write biopic films for Hollywood. One of the first films he was able to work on was Oliver Stone’s Nixon, which covered Nixon’s life right before and after the events of the Watergate scandal. This would earn Rivele an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay.

He would continue writing for biopic films, such as Ali, which focuses on famous boxer Mohammad Ali and his career from 1964 to 1974; Copying Beethoven, which was a fictional recounting of the revered composer’s final year of his life; Pawn Sacrifice, which was about famous chess player Bobby Fischer and his struggles against the Soviet Union; and Birth of the Dragon, which was inspired by the 1960’s films that legendary actor and martial artist Bruce Lee was known for and covered the controversial showdown between kung fu master Wong Jack Man and Lee himself. 

But Rivele wasn’t alone when writing these scripts, he had a writing partner, as writer Christopher Wilkinson worked with Rivele for 30 years on these projects. Rivele also left his mark on some recent big films but was uncredited. He was a writer on the Bradley Cooper remake of A Star is Born and also made an early draft of the Bohemian Rhapsody biopic that starred Rami Malek, giving the actor his Oscar for the film.

He leaves behind his partner Christine, two sons Eli and Nicholas, and his grandchildren.