Leigh Chapman

March 29, 1939 - November 4, 2014 Actress-writer Leigh Chapman, who wrote the 1974 movie "Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry," died at her home in West Hollywood after an eight-month battle with cancer. She was a pioneering female screenwriter in a genre - action-adventure -- dominated by male writers. Her first job after arriving in Los Angeles as a college graduate from Winthrop College in Rock Hill, S.C., was at the William Morris Theatrical Agency in Beverly Hills. An ambitious young woman, she would transcribe scripts at night to earn extra income. Leigh learned quickly. In just one year, William Morris was working for her after she wrote and sold her first TV script, an episode of "Burke's Law," which aired in 1964. Leigh also began a television acting career, most memorably as Napoleon Solo's efficient secretary Sarah in "The Man From U.N.C.L.E." Fans of the show will remember her character sporting a revolver tucked into the belt at the back of her form-fitting black skirt. She appeared in other TV hits such as "The Monkees," "Dr. Kildare," "Combat" and "McHale's Navy," but after selling a second script to the producers of "Burke's Law," she pursued television writing full time. Leigh went on to write episodes for "My Favorite Martian," "Mission Impossible," "The Wild Wild West," "The Mod Squad" and "Bewitched." But television was becoming too confining for her writing ambitions, so Leigh turned to screenwriting - and it was in films that she made her mark as a woman writer in Hollywood. The movie that established her as a writer in the man's world of action-adventure screenplays was "Dirty Mary Crazy Larry" (1974), which starred Peter Fonda and Susan George. The movie is still widely considered as among the best racing movies ever made. More than one producer was surprised to learn that a strikingly beautiful woman had written the high-action adventure movie he was hoping to option. Other movies in the genre written by Leigh included "Steel," "King of the Mountain," "The Octagon," starring marital arts champion Chuck Norris, and "Impulse," her final film credit (1990). She also wrote the original treatment that eventually became the blaxploitation film "Truck Turner," starring Isaac Hayes. A self-described tomboy and roughest kid on the block, she relished competitive sports, especially basketball. "I couldn't write a romantic comedy or a chick flick if my life depended on it," she said in a 2010 online interview. "I could write a love story, but it would have to be a "Casablanca"-type of love story, and some people would have to die." Her final television writing credit was the pilot and an episode of "Walker, Texas Ranger," in 1993, again starring Chuck Norris. Due to a creative dispute, writing credit for both scripts was given to Louise McCarn, who was Leigh's mother. Leigh graduated to novels, several of which were optioned for films. In the early 2000s, Leigh discovered a far different muse - photography, in particular underwater photography. Her work focused on the abstract forms she encountered while scuba diving around the world. "Terra Aqua Connections," a Calumet Hollywood exhibit (2011), featured many of her images, which explored the uncommon and never boring relationships between underwater and terra firma forms. Her slogan: "I live in Los Angeles but come alive underwater. That's my story and I'm sticking to it." Leigh Chapman was born in Kannapolis, N.C., as Rosa Lee Chapman. She is survived by her sister Frankie Wheeler of Columbia, S.C., brother John Chapman of Saugus, CA., and sister Morgan Spiecker of La Canada, CA. Photo Credit: John Chapman