Charles Eldridge O'Neal[1] (January 6, 1904 – August 29, 1996) was an American film and television screenwriter and novelist.
Charles Eldridge O'Neal was born in Raeford, North Carolina, the son of Elizabeth Maude (née Belton) of English descent, and Charles Samuel O'Neal of Irish descent.
He attended the University of Iowa, then moved to San Diego, where he joined an acting troupe that included his future wife, Patricia O'Callaghan.
After publishing a short story in Esquire, he decided to forgo performing and turned to screenwriting mostly B-movies, among them The Seventh Victim, Cry of the Werewolf, The Missing Juror, I Love a Mystery, Montana, and Golden Girl.
[6] O'Neal received the first Christopher Award for his debut novel The Three Wishes of Jamie McRuin (1949).