Bill Toti

Bill Toti is represented by AWS, and is a passionate and dedicated screenwriter, who draws from his experiences as a sea captain, Navy submarine commander, and surviving witness of the September 11th 2001 attack on the Pentagon -- to craft compelling, detail-rich, character-driven screenplays. He is currently developing several television scripts, in addition to four complete screenplays, including a Nicholl Screenwriting Contest semifinalist, "The Genocide Game;" a submarine-based actioner, "Fighting Ghosts;" an Afghanistan-based Navy SEAL war story "The Shepherd;" and a post civil war fantasy focusing on the Union Army major who shared the president's booth at Ford's Theater the night Lincoln was assassinated, titled "Rathbone." His 9/11 personal narrative opens the 2006 Random House book, "Operation Homecoming."

Toti was the final captain of the nuclear fast attack submarine USS Indianapolis (SSN 697), and was a key player in the exoneration of Captain Charles Butler McVay, who commanded the World War II cruiser of the same name. Toti has been named honorary captain by the survivors of the original Indianapolis cruiser sunk by the Japanese enroute to Guam. Now retired, Toti was formerly Vice President for mission support operations at Raytheon where he led $1.3b unit of 4800 employees in 30 countries.

The third USS Indianapolis (SSN-697), a Los Angeles-class submarine, was the third ship of the United States Navy to be named for Indianapolis, Indiana (and after her namesake, the notorious warship cruiser sunk in 1945). It was launched on July 30th, 1977. When the submarine Indianapolis was commissioned, many survivors of the cruiser USS Indianapolis were present for the official ceremony. A smaller group of survivors of the cruiser were also present when the Indianapolis was decommissioned and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 22 December 1998 and stored in Pearl Harbor until disposed of by submarine recycling. The last captain of the Indianapolis was William J. Toti, who also wrote the forward and afterward to Thomas Helm's Ordeal by the Sea: The Tragedy of the U.S.S Indianapolis. Because of Captain's Toti willingness to defend Captain Charles Butler McVay III who had been court-martialed for the sinking of the Portland class Cruiser in 1945, Captain Toti has been held in high esteem by the survivors of the 1945 sinking.