Ernest Pascal

{{short description|American author, screenwriter}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Ernest Pascal

| image =

| caption =

| birth_date = {{birth date|1896|1|11}}

| birth_place = London England, United Kingdom

| death_date = {{death date and age|1966|11|4|1896|1|11}}

| death_place = Bernardsville, New Jersey, United States

| birthname =

| occupation = {{flatlist|

• Screenwriter
• author
• poet
• playwright

}}

| spouse = Barbara Herriman

| yearsactive = 1923–1941

}}

Ernest Pascal (January 11, 1896 – November 4, 1966) was an English-born American screenwriter, author, playwright, and poet. Originally an author, he became involved in the film industry when his novels began to be optioned into films during the silent era of film, although his career was mostly during the sound era. In addition, he penned several Broadway plays as well.{{cite web | url=http://ibdb.com/person.php?id=5425 | publisher=Internet Broadway Database |title=Ernest Pascal | access-date=October 24, 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140724161805/http://ibdb.com/person.php?id=5425 | archive-date=July 24, 2014}} He married the daughter of famed cartoonist George Herriman, Barbara, and they had one daughter prior to Barbara's death from complications from surgery in 1939.{{cite book | author1-link = Patrick McDonnell |last1=McDonnell |first1= Patrick | last2= O'Connell | first2= Karen | last3= Havenon | first3= Georgia Riley de | title= Krazy Kat: The Comic Art of George Herriman | page=81 |year= 1986 | publisher= Abrams Books | isbn= 978-0-8109-9185-9}}

In 1947, Pascal was hired by RKO Pictures to write a story based on the Lewis and Clark Expedition of 1804. However, Warner Brothers procured the rights to the script, but when production was delayed, it was eventually permanently shelved after Paramount produced their 1955 film based on the same event entitled, The Far Horizons.{{cite web | url=http://nwda.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv89956 | publisher=NWDA | title=Guide to a screenplay about Lewis and Clark by Ernest Pascal | access-date=October 24, 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141025035535/http://nwda.orbiscascade.org/ark%3A/80444/xv89956 | archive-date=October 25, 2014 | url-status=dead }}