“[David McCullough] has had a profound influence on all that I’ve done because he’s taught me so much on how you tell a story.”
—Filmmaker Ken Burns
Two-time Pulitzer Prize winner writer David McCullough was known for making history human. When he died this week, America lost a national treasure. Thankfully he left behind books that will continue to have an impact, and his distinct voice used in films and television programs will resonate into the future—when today is considered ancient history.
I first remember hearing McCullough’s voice back in 1990 on the PBS series The Civil War, A Film by Ken Burns. In the pre-internet streaming days, his voice-over helped make that documentary a cultural phenomenon.
McCullough’s first book, The Great Bridge, was on the designing and building of the Brooklyn Bridge. When Burns’ made his first documentary, the Academy Award-nominated Brooklyn Bridge, McCullough was one of the scholars he interviewed.
“I remember having the experience in the winter of 1977 of reading a paperback version of The Great Bridge [by David McCullough], the epic story of the building of the Brooklyn Bridge, and turning to my partners who looked at me with astonishment and mind pending madness when I said, ‘I want to make a film about this. This history of the Brooklyn Bridge.’”
—Filmmaker Ken Burns
The only movie poster I own is from Seabiscuit (2013) in which once again McCullough’s voice works its wonder from a script written by Gary Ross (and based on Laura Hillenbrand’s book).
After I first saw the fantastic musical Hamilton I knew I needed to fill in some gaps in my understanding of American history and got the audio version of McCullough’s book 1776. His book The Wright Brothers laid out how the industrious and incredible patent producing Dayton, Ohio at the turn of the 20th century was an ideal place for the Wright Flyer to be built and tested.
McCullough’s book John Adams was the foundation of the HBO mini series starring Paul Giamatti.
I look forward to eveuntally going through all of his writings—all written on a typewriter. In the 60 Minutes piece below they show his 8X12 building behind his house his world headquarters where he focused on writing while living in Martha’s Vineyard.
America lost a giant of a writer in McCullough, but like all the founding fathers of this country he leaves a lasting legacy. One in which we can look back on flawed characters throughout history who had a vision for a more perfect union.
Scott W. Smith is the author of Screenwriting with Brass Knuckles
Screenwriting from Iowa 