Who was David Seidler? Family and all you need to know as The Oscar-winning King's Speech screenwriter dies aged 86

Well-known screenwriter David Seidler, aged 86, passed away on March 16, 2024. The news was confirmed by his manager, Jeff Aghassi, who shared in a statement that Seidler died in New Zealand while he was fly-fishing. Further details are currently awaited.

Throughout his career, he penned the screenplay for many successful films, such as Madeline: Lost in Paris and Onassis: The Richest Man in the World. In 2011, he was the recipient of an Academy Award in the category of Best Writing, Original Screenplay.

Various organizations took to social media platforms to express their grief. One of them was the National Stuttering Association, which shared a Facebook post with two photos and wrote:

"We had the pleasure of meeting David back at the NSA conference in Dallas, TX, in 2011 where he served as our keynote speaker. His kindness, enthusiasm for speaking at our conference, and excitement for enjoying life were truly infectious."

Seidler is survived by his children, Marc and Maya.

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David Seidler struggled with stuttering in his childhood: Family details explored

In a 2011 interview with Film Critic, David Seidler revealed that his family immigrated to the United States during his childhood. He shared that he started stuttering at the same time, but the words of King George VI left a positive impact on his life.

David added that his parents encouraged him to listen to the King's speeches, who eventually became his "childhood hero." David revealed that his stuttering began a long time ago, on his third birthday. He further stated:

"The best way to handle a stutter when it first starts – and I'm choosing my words carefully because once it starts a parent is well-advised to get speech therapy for their child – but when it first appears, the best thing to do is nothing."

His stuttering problem later inspired him to become a writer. In his thirties, he formed a romantic relationship with a Maori woman named Huia, whom he later married. The duo welcomed a son named Marc. Following his separation from Huia, Seidler shifted to New Zealand to stay close to his son.

David Seidler exchanged vows for the second time, but detailed information on his second wife's identity remains unknown. His initial aim was to work for director Francis Ford Coppola after his graduation, and they collaborated on Tucker: The Man and His Dream, which was unsuccessful at the box office.

He faced another challenge when he was diagnosed with bladder cancer in 2005, which was a result of his smoking habit that started a long time ago when he was 12 years old. He once told Empowered Patient that it helped his throat relax and gave him some confidence.

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David Seidler's work on The King's Speech has been praised over the years

While David Seidler had multiple films under his credit, the most successful among them was The King's Speech. His interest in the project began during his higher studies, and the film was successful, grossing around $400 million worldwide.

Seidler disclosed to Film Critic how he developed the script, saying that he was not confident about the first draft. However, his wife told him that everything was perfect. He added:

"As you've seen, The King's Speech really is, after all, two men in a room. And if you get that tentpole upright, you can then hang everything off of it like Christmas tree ornaments. She's a smart woman, so I took her advice and wrote it as a play and kind of realized, I think I may have finally done this correctly."

In 2010, he recalled the time when he used to follow the King in an interview with The Times, saying that all of these happened before the invention of the radio. He added:

"As a common man, you never heard the king speak. And then suddenly, you not only heard him speak, but you could hear him in your living room, in the privacy of your home where you could comment rudely about him."

The King's Speech was later adapted on stage and received a similar response to the film. David's filmography includes a TV show, Adventures of the Seaspray, which premiered in 1965.

David Seidler also gained recognition for his contributions to films such as Quest for Camelot, The King and I, and By Dawn's Early Light.