Monks was born in
Pleasantville, New York. He attended the
Virginia Military Institute (VMI) and became a stage actor. Together with a fellow former cadet
Fred Finklehoffe, he co-wrote a play in 1936 titled
Brother Rat. The success of the play led to
Warner Bros. purchasing the play for filming at VMI. Warners engaged them to write the screenplay for the film and a sequel titled
Brother Rat and a Baby. Monks also wrote
Strike Up the Band (1940) and
Dial 1119 (1950) for
MGM. In
World War II, Monks was commissioned by the
U.S. Marine Corps on his graduation from VMI. He met producer
Louis de Rochemont and co-wrote
We Are the Marines. Captain Monks served in the
3rd Marine Regiment during the
Bougainville campaign and wrote an account of the Regiment in
A Ribbon and a Star: The Third Marines At Bougainville, published in 1945. Monks returned to civilian life writing the screenplays for several films, such as
The House on 92nd Street (winning an
Edgar Allan Poe Award),
Knock on Any Door, ''
The People Against O'Hara and later (with Richard Goldstone) writing, producing and directing No Man Is an Island'' (1962) about American sailor
George Ray Tweed, who remained undetected on
Guam from the Japanese invasion to the American recapture. After a long absence from the cinema, Monks made several appearances as an actor, beginning with
Sylvester Stallone's
Paradise Alley (1978). He died in
Pacific Palisades, California. ==Filmography==