Shel Silverstein’s Life Showcased in New Biopic for the Cinema

Any of us who are teachers, parents, and other caregivers, are familiar with the works of Shel Silverstein, who is best known for writing and illustrating classic children’s books, including Where the Sidewalk Ends and The Giving Tree, as well as penning country music classics like Johnny Cash’s “A Boy Named Sue.”

Now Award-winning songwriter and children’s book author Shel Silverstein will be the subject of a new biopic based on the biography A Boy Named Shel: The Life and Times of Shel Silverstein by Lisa Rogak.

Wonderland Sound and Vision is producing the project, with writing partners Chris Shafer and Paul Vicknair adapting the script from the biography. Director McG (Charlie’s Angels, 3 Days to Kill) will be among the film’s producers. 

 Silverstein also collaborated with musicians including Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn, and Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show and drew cartoons for Playboy. Silverstein’s songs were as well-crafted as they were funny, and he was even nominated for an Oscar and a Golden Globe for his song “I’m Checkin’ Out,” which was sung by Meryl Streep in Postcards from the Edge. 

Silverstein’s most famous books have been translated into more than 30 languages and sold over 20 million copies, but the biography also looks at his experimental plays written with David Mamet and other projects that not many people know about. 

Silverstein died in 1999 of a heart attack at the age of 68.