Sanford was born March 17, 1918. He served as a chief sonar soundman in the United States Navy from 1942 to 1945 during World War II.[1]
Before World War II, Sanford was a page and tour guide with CBS Radio in Hollywood.[4] He began his career, initially in radio and television, after leaving the U.S. Navy.[1] He supervised the United Nations's disc recording division.[4] He began writing for the radio series Martin Kane, Private Eye, during the early 1950s.[1] Sanford segued to television in the 1950s, working as audio engineer, cameraman, stage manager, and technical director for the DuMont network.[4] His professional credits ultimately included episodes of The Plainclothesman, Gunsmoke, Bonanza, Dr. Kildare, Letter to Loretta, Perry Mason, The Outer Limits, Blue Light, and The Silent Force, among others.[1][5]
Sanford's film screenplay credits during the 1960s included three feature films set during the World War II era: Submarine X-1, The Thousand Plane Raid, and Mosquito Squadron, all of which were released in 1969.[1] However, Sanford's best-known screenplay was for the 1976 World War II film Midway, which was directed by Jack Smight and starred Charlton Heston.[1][2]
Sanford's last screenwriting credit before his retirement was for the 1979 sci-fi film Ravagers.[1] He later became chief executive officer of Stansbury, Inc., a mining company specializing in vermiculite.[3] He remained active in the screenwriting industry, serving on the Pension and Health Finance Committee for the Writers Guild of American Pension and Health Fund.[1] Sanford was also a full member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the Writers Guild of America.[1]
Donald S. Sanford died at a hospital in Atlanta, Georgia, on February 8, 2011, at the age of 92.[1] He was survived by his wife of 35 years, Teddi, and his three stepchildren, Jennifer Levison, Daniel Levison, and Michael Levison.[1]
