Dalene Young

Writer

Born: June 29, 1939 (85 years old)

Died: May 9, 2025

Place of birth: Hawaii, U.S.

Biography

Dalene Young (June 29, 1939 — May 9, 2025) was an American screenwriter, producer, and occasional actor. She was best known for writing the coming-of-age comedy-drama Little Darlings (1980), featuring Tatum O’Neal and Kristy McNichol, and the Mary Steenburgen-starring drama Cross Creek (1983). Young received a Daytime Emmy nomination for co-writing the Showtime children’s special Locked in Silence (1999) and landed a Christopher Award and a Humanitas Prize nomination for her work on the NBC telefilm Jonathan: The Boy Nobody Wanted (1992).

Filmography (18)

• Grimm (2011, ★ 8.3)
• Pig (2021, ★ 6.6)
• Evidence of Blood (1998, ★ 6.4)
• The People Across the Lake (1988, ★ 5.8)
• Cross Creek (1983, ★ 6.6)
• Little Darlings (1980, ★ 6.5)
• The Yarn Princess (1994, ★ 6.4)
• Sonny Boy (1989, ★ 4.8)
• Why Me? (1984, ★ 5.4)
• Dawn: Portrait of a Teenage Runaway (1976, ★ 4.9)
• Panic in Echo Park (1977, ★ 4.9)
• Journey of the Heart (1997, ★ 4.8)
• Deadman's Curve (1978, ★ 5.2)
• The Baby-Sitters Club (1995, ★ 5.4)
• Locked in Silence (1999, ★ 5.7)
• Cab to Canada (1998, ★ 5.6)
• Alexander: The Other Side of Dawn (1977, ★ 5.5)
• Teen Lust (1978, ★ 3.2)