View source for Jim Cash

{{short description|American screenwriter}}
{{Other uses|James Cash (disambiguation){{!}}James Cash}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2012}}
{{infobox person
| name        = Jim Cash
| image       =
| birth_name  = James Willis Cash<ref>''U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936–2007''</ref>
| birth_date  = {{birth date |1941|01|17|mf=y}}
| birth_place = [[Boyne City]], [[Michigan]], U.S.
| death_date  = {{Death date and age|2000|03|25|1941|01|17|mf=y}}
| death_place = [[East Lansing]], Michigan, U.S.
| spouse      = Cynthia Cash
| children = 4
| alma_mater  = [[Michigan State University]]
| occupation  = Writer
| known_for   = Co-writer of ''[[Top Gun]]'' (1986)
}}
'''James Willis Cash''' (January 17, 1941 – March 25, 2000) was an American film writer, noted for writing such 1980s films as ''[[Top Gun]]'' and ''[[The Secret of My Success (1987 film)|The Secret of My Success]]''.
==Early life and education==
Cash was born on January 17, 1941, in [[Boyne City]], [[Michigan]].<ref name=2000_lat>{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-mar-29-mn-13804-story.html |title=Jim Cash; Professor, Half of 'Top Gun' Screenwriting Duo |first=Myrna |last=Oliver |date=March 29, 2000 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |access-date=2022-12-14}}</ref>
In 1970, Cash received a [[Bachelor of Arts|B.A.]] in English from [[Michigan State University]] (MSU). In 1972, Cash received an M.A. in Television and Radio from [[Michigan State University]].<ref name=MSU>{{cite web |url=https://lib.msu.edu/html/materials/collections/michcoll/cashepps.jsp |title=Jim Cash & Jack Epps |work=Michigan Writers Collection |publisher=Michigan State University |access-date=2022-12-14}}</ref>
==Career==
As a professor, Cash taught writing and film history at [[Michigan State University]]. Cash met a student named [[Jack Epps, Jr.]], who would later become his writing partner. Epps was from the [[Detroit]] area.
Cash and Epps began their writing relationship while at [[Michigan State University]]. In 1975, they wrote their first story together in the MSU Union Grill. Soon afterward Epps moved to [[Hollywood, Los Angeles|Hollywood]], [[California]]. Cash continued to live in [[East Lansing]], [[Michigan]], while Epps lived in [[Santa Monica]], [[California]]. They collaborated via computer.
In 1986, Cash and Epps co-wrote ''[[Top Gun]]''.
==Personal life==
Cash married his first wife, Mariann (Mimi), when he was a professor at MSU and she was a sophomore at MSU studying communications.
Cash and his second wife, Cynthia, had four children.<ref name=2000_ss>{{cite news |url=https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-2000-03-30-0003291113-story.html |title=Jim Cash, 59, Screenwriter |first=Myrna |last=Oliver |date=March 30, 2000 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |access-date=2022-12-14}}</ref> He and his wife had a restaurant in [[Lansing, Michigan]].<ref name=2000_ss />
Cash also established several scholarships for film production and performing arts.<ref name=2000_lat /><ref name=MSU />
He died after hospitalization for an intestinal ailment.<ref name=2000_ss />
==Filmography==
* ''Dangerously'' (with [[Jack Epps Jr.]]) (1978) (unproduced)
* ''[[Izzy and Moe]]'' (with [[Jack Epps Jr.]], Steven Patrick Bell and [[Robert Boris]]) (1985) (TV) (story only)
* ''[[Top Gun]]'' (with [[Jack Epps Jr.]]) (1986)
* ''[[Legal Eagles]]'' (with [[Jack Epps Jr.]]) (1986)
* ''[[The Secret of My Success (1987 film)|The Secret of My Success]]'' (with [[Jack Epps Jr.]] and [[A.J. Carothers]]) (1987)
* ''[[Turner & Hooch]]'' (with [[Jack Epps Jr.]], [[Dennis Shryack]], [[Michael Blodgett]] and [[Daniel Petrie Jr.]]) (1989)
* ''[[Dick Tracy (1990 film)|Dick Tracy]]'' (with [[Jack Epps Jr.]]) (1990)
* ''[[Anaconda (1997 film)|Anaconda]]'' (with [[Jack Epps Jr.]] and [[Hans Bauer (writer)|Hans Bauer]]) (1997)
* ''[[The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas]]'' (with [[Jack Epps Jr.]]) (2000)
* ''[[Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid]]'' (with [[Jack Epps Jr.]] and [[Hans Bauer (writer)|Hans Bauer]]) (2004) (story, elements from the original ''Anaconda'' script)
* ''[[Top Gun: Maverick]]'' (based on characters created by with Jack Epps Jr.) (2022) (story only) (screenplay from the film ''Top Gun'')
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
* {{IMDb name|id=0143596}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cash, Jim}}
[[Category:1941 births]]
[[Category:2000 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Boyne City, Michigan]]
[[Category:American male screenwriters]]
[[Category:Michigan State University alumni]]
[[Category:Screenwriting instructors]]
[[Category:Screenwriters from Michigan]]
[[Category:20th-century American male writers]]
[[Category:20th-century American screenwriters]]
[[Category:Deaths from digestive disease]]