William Dodson Broyles Jr.[1] (born October 8, 1944) is an American journalist, screenwriter, and former United States Marine Corps officer.
He created the television series China Beach (1988–91) and Six (2017-18), and wrote such films as Apollo 13 (1995), Cast Away (2000), Planet of the Apes (2001), Unfaithful (2002), The Polar Express (2004), Jarhead (2005) and Flags of Our Fathers (2006).
[1] He was raised in Baytown, Texas, graduated from Robert E. Lee High School and attended Rice University, earning a B.A.
He has remained a strong supporter of the University throughout his career, delivering the commencement speech in 1983, and receiving the Distinguished Alumni Award in 1993.
Due to his educational background and experience, his assigned duties included social issues with an emphasis on the refugees in the Quang Nam Province.
[3] In 1988, Broyles once again drew upon his memories in Vietnam when he co-created the award-winning television series, China Beach, a weekly drama for ABC about the doctors and nurses stationed at an American military base in Danang.
He taught Philosophy and Political Science at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis before returning to Texas as Chief Public Relations Officer for the Houston Independent School District.
During the next few years, Broyles made one more foray into the magazine publishing world, serving as editor-in-chief of Cable Guide, but he focused primarily on developing his writing career.
In 1991, the Golden Globe-winning China Beach went off the air, but Broyles was well into production on his second television project, Under Cover, a political espionage series following the adventures of husband-and-wife secret service agents, Dylan and Kate Del'Amico.
The film, based loosely on the book Lost Moon, co-authored by astronaut Jim Lovell and Jeffrey Kluger, was directed by Ron Howard.
Other writing credits in motion pictures include Entrapment (1999), Planet of the Apes (2001), Unfaithful (2002), The Polar Express (2004), Jarhead (2005), and Flags of Our Fathers (2006).