Oscar-winning screenwriter Frank Pierson, who wrote ‘Dog Day Afternoon,’ dead at 87

LOS ANGELES, Calif. – The Oscar-winning screenwriter of “Dog Day Afternoon” and “Cool Hand Luke” has died.

Frank Pierson’s family says he died of natural causes Monday in Los Angeles after a short illness. He was 87.

He won an Oscar for writing 1975’s “Dog Day Afternoon” and was nominated for his screenplays for “Cool Hand Luke” and “Cat Ballou.” He wrote and directed 1976’s “A Star is Born.”

Perhaps Pierson’s most famous line was for “Cool Hand Luke”: “What we’ve got here is failure to communicate.”

He most recently worked as a writer and consulting producer on TV’s “Mad Men” and “The Good Wife.”

Pierson served as president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences from 2001 to 2005 and served as governor of its writers branch for 17 years. He is survived by his wife, two children and five grandchildren.