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Elizabeth Kata - Wikipedia

Elizabeth Kata - Wikipedia


A Patch of Blue Book


Elizabeth Kata

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Elizabeth Katayama
A white woman with dark set hair, wearing a notch collared blouse.
Elizabeth Katayama, from a 1947 Australian newspaper.
Born
Elizabeth Colina McDonald

9 October 1912
Sydney, Australia
Died4 September 1998 (aged 85)
Sydney, Australia
Pen nameElizabeth Kata
OccupationNovelist
NationalityAustralian
Years active1959–1989
SpouseShinshiro Katayama

Elizabeth Colina Katayama (nee McDonald; 9 October 1912 – 4 September 1998) was an Australian writer known by the pseudonym Elizabeth Kata, best known for Be Ready with Bells and Drums (1961), made into the award-winning film A Patch of Blue (1965).[1]

Biography

She was born of Scottish parents in Sydney in 1912. After marrying the Japanese pianist Shinshiro Katayama in 1937,[2] she lived for 10 years in Japan. During the last years of World War II, she was interned at the mountain resort village of Karuizawa, Nagano. She returned to Australia in 1947 with her baby son David, battling the Australian government for permission.[3]

As well as writing novels, she wrote for television and several Hollywood scripts. Her first novel, Be Ready with Bells and Drums (written in 1959, first published in 1961), was produced as the film A Patch of Blue (1965).[2] Guy Green, who directed, adapted Kata's book and his screenplay was nominated for a Writers Guild of America award. After the success of the film, the novel was re-released as A Patch of Blue. The book was for many years included in the "school book list" both in the U.S. and Australia. The book Mrs Katayama and Her Splash of Blue (2010, Independence Jones), covers how Elizabeth Kata's first book became the film A Patch of Blue.

Elizabeth Katayama died at her home in Sydney on September 4, 1998.

Works

  • Be Ready with Bells and Drums (1961; re-published as A Patch of Blue)[2]
  • Someone Will Conquer Them (1962)[2]
  • Look Back in Horror[2]
  • Tilda (1979)[2]
  • Child of the Holocaust (1980)
  • The Death of Ruth (1981)
  • With Kisses on Both Cheeks (1981)
  • Sarah (1982)
  • Kagami (1989)

References

  1.  Kringas, Damian. "Kata, Elizabeth"Dictionary of Sydney. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
  2.  Frizell, Helen (20 November 1968). "Books Into Films"The Sydney Morning Herald. Sydney, NSW, Australia. p. 6. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  3.  "Untitled photograph and caption"Mercury (Hobart, Tas. : 1860 - 1954). 1947-02-27. p. 9. Retrieved 2020-10-13.
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Elizabeth Kata
Born in Sydney, Australia  January 01, 1912
Died  January 01, 1998

edit data
Elizabeth Katayama (1912 – 4 September 1998) was an Australian writer
 under the pseudonym Elizabeth Kata, best known for Be Ready with Bells and Drums (1961), which was made into the award-winning film A Patch of Blue (1965).

She was born of Scottish parents in Sydney in 1912. After marrying a Japanese man named Katayama in 1937, she lived for ten years in Japan. During the last years of World War II she was interned at the mountain resort village of Karuizawa, Nagano. She returned to Australia in 1947 with her baby son, battling the Australian Government for permission.

As well as writing novels, she also wrote for television and several Hollywood scripts. Her first novel, Be Ready with Bells and Drums (written in 1959, first published in 1961), was produced as the film A Patch of Blue (1965). Shelley Winters playing the role of Rose-Ann D'Arcey won an Academy Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. Guy Green, who directed, also adapted Kata's book and his screenplay was nominated for a Writers Guild of America award. After the success of the film, the novel was re-released as A Patch of Blue. The book was for many years included in the "school book list" both in the US and Australia. The book Mrs Katayama and Her Splash of Blue (2010, Independence Jones), covers how Elizabeth Kata's first book became the film A Patch of Blue.

Average rating: 3.92 · 1,367 ratings · 176 reviews · 9 distinct works • Similar authors
A Patch of Blue

by 
 3.95 avg rating — 1,266 ratings — published 1961 — 26 editions
Kagami: A Novel

by 
 3.53 avg rating — 49 ratings — published 1990 — 6 editions
The Death of Ruth

by 
 3.73 avg rating — 37 ratings — 7 editions
Child of the Holocaust

by 
 3.36 avg rating — 11 ratings — 4 editions
With Kisses On Both Cheeks

by 
 3.33 avg rating — 3 ratings — 3 editions
Someone Will Conquer Them

by 
it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating — published 2015 — 3 editions
Tilda

by 
 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings
A Patch Of Blue

by 
 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings
Death of Ruth

by 
 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings

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