Colin Higgins

Colin Higgins (28 July 1941 – 5 August 1988) was an Australian-American screenwriter, actor, director and producer. He is best known for writing the screenplay for "Harold and Maude" (1971) and "Silver Streak" (1976), and for directing "Foul Play" (1978) and "9 to 5" (1980). Higgins was openly gay.
Life and career.
Higgins was born in Nouméa, New Caledonia, France. His mother was an Australian and his father was an American. He grew up in Sydney, New South Wales. He later lived and worked in the United States. 
After graduating he was working as a part-time chauffeur and pool cleaner for a wealthy family in Los Angeles. There he met film producer Ed Lewis and showed him a draft of "Harold and Maude." Ed then showed the draft to Robert Evans at Paramount. Higgins collaborated with Hal Ashby to make this film.
On 5 August 1988, Higgins died of an AIDS-related illness in Beverly Hills, California. He was 47.