Educator, writer, and US veteran James Francis Price

Educator, writer, and veteran James Francis Price earned success as a screen writer.

Many educators have logged some successes in areas outside of the classroom. One of these is James Francis Price, an English teacher from Los Angeles who has also earned some success as a screen writer.

James was born on January 2, 1935, in Hollywood, California. As a youngster he attended St. Paul the Apostle School in Westwood. He spent his high school yeas at Loyola High School in Los Angeles, and transferred to Los Angeles High School, where he graduated in 1953. After high school, James enlisted in the US Army. He served his country in Korea near the DMZ after the Korean War Armistice was settled.

Once James returned to the United States, he enrolled at UCLA , where he earned his Bachelor’s degree in History in 1960. He also completed graduate courses there. During this years, James authored many original screenplays, novels, and short stories. In fact, he earned an Honorable Mention in the Samuel Goldwyn Creative Writing Competition for his short stories “A Crow for One Day” and “Rolie Weed.” In that competition, Francis Ford Copola took the top honors.

After earning his degrees, James accepted a position as a  teacher in the Los Angeles. He earned a reputation as an excellent instructor of composition, reading, English literature, and government. His career there spanned 28 years.reading composition English literature

In 1972, he sold his screenplay The Stolen Moment. He joined the Screen Writers Guild, and continued to write scripts. He also produced at least one novel.

Sadly, this talented and creative teacher passed away on April 11, 2020, in Santa Monica, California. He was 85 years old. He is interred at the Riverside National Cemetery in Riverside, California.

To learn more about James, read his obituary published in the Los Angeles Times.