Stirling Silliphant

Stirling Dale Silliphant (January 16, 1918 – April 26, 1996) was an American screenwriter and producer. He is best remembered for his screenplay for ''In the Heat of the Night'', for which he won an Academy Award in 1967, and for creating the television series ''Naked City'', ''Perry Mason'', and ''Route 66''. Other features as screenwriter include the Irwin Allen productions ''The Towering Inferno'' and ''The Poseidon Adventure''. Provided by Wikipedia