Tuesday, May 24, 7 PM

John Sacret Young was co-creator, writer, and executive producer of China Beach, the landmark television series about Vietnam. He is the author of The Weather Tomorrow, a novel.

He moved to L.A. with a degree in religion, and applied to the L.A.P.D. Instead, Young wound up writing for the Emmy Award-winning drama Police Story, and since then has worked as a writer, director, and producer.  Young co-created and served as executive producer of the series China Beach. For his work on the series, Young received a Golden Globe Award, a People’s Choice Award, 13 Viewers for Quality Television Awards, five Emmy nominations, and four nominations from the Writers Guild of America. Young won the WGA Award for “Souvenirs” and the Peabody Award for “Vets,” two episodes of China Beach, both which he directed. He also served as the executive producer on the series VR-5, Orleans, and Level 9.

The first Movie of the Week Young wrote, Special Olympics, received the Humanitas Prize. His first mini-series, A Rumor of War, also about Vietnam, landed him a second Writers Guild of America Award. Young wrote the Oscar-nominated feature film Testament (with Jane Alexander, Kevin Costner, and Rebecca DeMornay); and Romero (with Raul Julia). Both received Christopher Awards. In 1999 Young won another Humanitas Prize for the mini-series Thanks of a Grateful Nation, about the Gulf War Syndrome, which he also executive produced.

Since then, Young has written, produced, and directed for Showtime’s Sirens, about a police-involved shooting, and for ABC’s King of the World, based on New Yorker editor-in-chief David Remnick’s book about the young Muhammad Ali. Young currently serves as Secretary for the Board of the Humanitas Prize and Secretary for the Writers Guild Foundation. Young’s first novel The Weather Tomorrow was praised by Newsweek, The Washington Post, The New Yorker, and The Los Angeles Times. His novel The Black Rainbow was published in the fall of 2002.

Louise Steinman is the author, most recently of The Souvenir: A Daughter Discovers Her Father’s War (Algonquin Books), based on her father’s letters home from the Pacific front. She is Cultural Programs Director for the Library Foundation of Los Angeles, and curator of the ALOUD at Central Library series.