Biography
Stephen D. Geller, born in 1940 in Los Angeles, California, is an American novelist and screenwriter. He penned the screenplay for the film adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five and has been active in the film industries of Hollywood and Europe. Recently, Geller directed his independent feature film, Mother's Little Helpers.
Raised in Hollywood during the 1940s and 1950s, Geller's family relocated to Paris, France after his father, a CBS musician and arranger, was subpoenaed by the House Committee on Un-American Activities in the 1950s.
Geller attended Dartmouth College and Yale University before moving to Rome, Italy, from 1969 to 1979 to work for Italian producer Dino De Laurentiis. During this time, he wrote the screenplay for The Valachi Papers among other films. Rome remained his home for 16 years as he worked across Italian, French, British, and independent film sectors, while also traveling to Los Angeles to write for every major studio. In 1986, he returned to Hollywood briefly before establishing screenwriting programs at Arizona State University and Boston University.
His screenwriting portfolio includes Slaughterhouse-Five, Ashanti, The Valachi Papers, Warburg: A Man of Influence, and Mother's Little Helpers.
In 1997, Geller co-wrote, directed, and performed in the play Opportunities in Zero Gravity alongside Kae Geller, his wife and writing partner. This two-actor, seven-character production explored themes of popular cultural mythology, capitalism, and the American Dream through interconnected monologues.
Beyond screenwriting, Geller has authored 11 novels, a book on screenwriting, several plays, and has directed theater and films. He currently teaches Shakespeare, satire, and personal essay writing at the Savannah College of Art and Design. His latest novel is Jews in Dark Matter, and his most recent non-fiction work is Sabbath-on-Swathe, an authorized autobiography.
