Screenwriter Patricia Louisianna Knop, who collaborated with her producer-director husband Zalman King on erotically-charged films of the late 1980s and 1990s including “Siesta” and “9 1/2 Weeks,” died Aug. 7 in Santa Monica after a lengthy illness.
“9 1/2 Weeks,” starring Mickey Rourke and Kim Basinger, was directed by Adrian Lyne, co-produced by King and co-written by Knop. The film proved controversial for its explicit S&M-theme and was heavily cut before its U.S. release.
Her writing credits also include “Delta of Venus,” “Wild Orchid” and “Red Shoe Diaries.” King directed “Wild Orchid” and the pair collaborated on the screenplay for the film starring Rourke and Jacqueline Bisset, which also had to be cut in order to obtain an R-rating.
Knop’s other screenplays included “Lady Oscar” and “Silence of the North.”
Knop met King on a Caribbean-bound schooner in 1961, and King began acting on TV shows. Knop also co-wrote the book for Broadway musical “Whistle Down the Wind” alongside Gale Edwards and Andrew Lloyd Webber. An experienced sculptor and painter, her many works were placed in homes throughout the world.
Popular on Variety
She enjoyed filling the couple’s Santa Monica home with antiques, stained glass, and magnificent paintings. Zalman King died in 2012.
Born Oct. 23, 1940 in Muskegon, Michigan, she is survived by her two daughters Chloe King, a screenwriter, and Gillian Lefkowitz, a photographer and interior designer.
