Alan Trustman, screenwriter of the 1968 films Bullitt and The Thomas Crown Affair, has died. He was 95.
The Harvard-educated lawyer-turned-screenwriter died on Feb. 5 at a nursing home in Miami, his son John told The New York Times.
Born Dec. 16, 1930 in Boston, Trustman graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College in 1952, before finishing Harvard Law School in ’55. He went on to work at Nutter McClennen & Fish LLP, where his father was a partner, before achieving partnership himself and retiring at age 37.
During his time at the firm, he was inspired to write his first screenplay for the The Thomas Crown Affair by his office view of the First National Bank of Boston, where he’d previously worked and developed knowledge of the bank’s security procedures.
The 1968 Norman Jewison-helmed heist film starred Steve McQueen as bored millionaire Thomas Crown, who devises a brilliant plan to rob a bank without having to lift a finger. When the bank’s insurance company assigns investigator Vicki Anderson (Faye Dunaway) to the case, the two begin a romantic cat-and-mouse game as he plots his next heist.
Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway in ‘The Thomas Crown Affair’ (1968)
Pierce Brosnan and Rene Russo starred in a 1999 remake of the film. Meanwhile, Michael B. Jordan is directing a new update of The Thomas Crown Affair, starring himself and Adria Arjona, set for a March 5, 2027 release.
Also in ’68, Trustman wrote McQueen’s Bullitt, in which the actor played police lieutenant Frank Bullitt, who goes up against the mob while protecting a star witness from hitmen. The San Francisco-set thriller is known for its iconic car chase scene.
Trustman also wrote They Call Me Mister Tibbs! (1970), Lady Ice (1973), Hit! (1973), Crime and Passion (1975) and The Next Man (1976).
Trustman is survived by wife Dr. Barbara Buchwald, son John, daughter Laurie, sister Patty and 11 grandchildren. He was previously married to Playboy cartoon editor Michelle Urry until her death in 2006.