Trumbo began working as a television and film screenwriter in 1967. Trumbo co-wrote the film
The Don Is Dead (1973), starring
Anthony Quinn, as well as the John Wayne film
Brannigan (1975). In 1974, he was the co-creator with
Michael Butler of the short-lived
ABC police drama
Nakia, and he also wrote for the series. In 1978, Trumbo wrote the television film
Ishi: The Last of His Tribe, in which he co-credited his father, who died in 1976. Trumbo's other credits included television episodes of
Falcon Crest,
Ironside and
Quincy, M.E.. Trumbo wrote a play based on his father's blacklist-era letters, called
Trumbo: Red, White and Blacklisted. The play, which focuses on Dalton Trumbo's blacklist experience through his personal letters, was adapted as an off-Broadway production directed by
Peter Askin. Askin's
Trumbo: Red, White and Blacklisted, which starred
Nathan Lane as Dalton Trumbo and Gordon MacDonald as the narrator, opened at the
Westside Theatre in
New York City. The production ran for approximately one year. Lane departed the production and several well-known actors took on the role of Dalton Trumbo, including
Chris Cooper,
Gore Vidal,
Richard Dreyfuss,
F. Murray Abraham,
Bill Irwin and
Brian Dennehy. Dennehy later starred in a national tour of the play. Christopher Trumbo and Peter Askins collaborated to create the film
Trumbo (2007), which was also based on Dalton Trumbo's letters. The film combined documentary footage with performances by Nathan Lane, Brian Dennehy,
Liam Neeson,
Donald Sutherland and
Paul Giamatti. Trumbo was considered an expert on the Hollywood blacklist era. He was often cited in books and appeared in documentaries concerning the subject, including the seven-part
Moguls and Movie Stars, which aired on
Turner Classic Movies in 2010. Trumbo was writing a history of the Hollywood blacklist at the time of his death in 2011. ==Death==