John Ridley IV (born October 1965) is an American screenwriter, film director, novelist, and showrunner, known for 12 Years a Slave, for which he won an Academy Award in 2013 for Best Adapted Screenplay.
Early life
Ridley was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and raised from age 7 in Mequon, Wisconsin, with an ophthalmologist father, John Ridley, III, and a mother, Terry Ridley, who was a special education teacher for Milwaukee Public Schools. He has two sisters and is the middle sibling.
Ridley graduated from Homestead High School in Mequon, Wisconsin in 1982. He enrolled in Indiana University but transferred to New York University.
Career
Following college, Ridley performed standup comedy in New York City, with appearances on a David Letterman late-night talk show and The Tonight Show. Moving to Los Angeles in 1990, he began writing for such television sitcoms as Martin, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and The John Larroquette Show.
After both writing and directing his film debut, the 1997 crime thriller Cold Around the Heart, he and Oliver Stone co-adapted Ridley's first novel, Stray Dogs (still unpublished when Stone bought the rights) into the 1997 Stone-directed film U Turn, which was released slightly earlier than Cold Around the Heart. Ridley went on to write the novels Love Is a Racket and Everybody Smokes in Hell. His novel Spoils of War was adapted into the 1999 David O. Russell-directed Three Kings. Ridley's original script was rewritten by Russell and Ridley, with Ridley receiving a "story by" credit negotiated among himself, Russell, and the releasing studio, Warner Bros. Ridley then became a writer and a supervising producer on the NBC crime drama Third Watch. His other novels are The Drift, Those Who Walk in Darkness, and A Conversation with the Mann. He also wrote the graphic novel The American Way.
John Ridley (26 May 1806 – 25 November 1887) was an English miller, inventor, landowner, investor, farming machinery manufacturer, farmer and preacher who lived in Australia between 1839 and 1853. He is best known for the development, manufacture and invention of "Ridley's Stripper", a machine that removed the heads of grain, with the threshing being done later by a separate machine. The suburb of Ridleyton was named for him.
Early life
Ridley was born near West Boldon, Tyne and Wear, England. His father, also John Ridley, was a miller who died when his son was five years old. His mother, Mary (a cousin of John Sr.), carried on the business; when Ridley was 15 years of age he began to share in its management. Ridley had little formal education, but had a love of books and a remarkable memory. He had come across an encyclopaedia soon after he was able to read, and took the greatest interest in the scientific articles which he read and re-read. Science and theology were the great interests of his life. He began preaching at 18, and at 23 was a recognised local preacher in the Sunderland circuit.
John Sutherland Ridley (April 6, 1882– May 2, 1934) was a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1920 to 1922. Ridley was a member of the Conservative Party.
He was born in Parkhill, Ontario, the son of John W. Ridley and Elisabeth Boyd. Ridley was first employed in farming and later entered the farm implement business, partnering with his brother in Manitou. He played with the Manitou Lacrosse Club, who were provincial champions in 1904. He was a member of the United Church. Ridley married Sarah E. Kealey.
Ridley was elected to the Manitoba legislature in the 1920 provincial election, defeating Farmer candidate George Compton by 259 votes in the constituency of Manitou. Incumbent Liberal George Armstrong finished third. The Liberal Party won a minority government in this election, and Ridley served with his party in opposition.
He ran for re-election in the 1922 provincial election, and narrowly lost to George Compton in a rematch from two years earlier. Compton was by this time a candidate of the United Farmers of Manitoba.
John Ridley was a footballer who played as a right full back for Manchester City between 1927 and 1933.
Ridley joined Manchester City in September 1927, displacing Sam Cookson in the team. He made his debut in a 1-0 victory against South Shields. Ridley made 174 league appearances for Manchester City.
References
John Ridley (born 27 April 1952) is an English former footballer. A versatile midfielder, he had a twelve-year professional career in the Football League, playing for Port Vale and Chesterfield, as well as Leicester City. He also played for non-league Stafford Rangers and for American side Fort Lauderdale Strikers.
He was voted Port Vale F.C. Player of the Year in 1975–76, won the Anglo-Scottish Cup with Chesterfield in 1981, and helped Port Vale to win promotion out of the Fourth Division in 1982–83. Qualifying as a teacher before he began his football career, once he retired he returned to the education profession.
Playing career
As a young man, Ridley played for Sheffield University and other English Universities, as he earned his degree and qualified as a teacher. This achieved, he then signed professional forms with Port Vale in July 1973, having previously been at the club on youth terms. He came through to the professional ranks at the same time as David Harris, who would also become a key player for the "Valiants". Ridley played ten Third Division games in 1973–74. He scored his first goal in senior football in a 3–1 win over Charlton Athletic on 27 April 1974.
John Ridley is a writer.
John Ridley may also refer to: