The story is here:
*************************************************
More than twenty years after his return from France as the most decorated soldier of World War I, York signed a contract with Warner Brothers for a moving picture telling the story of his life. The picture, in which Gary Cooper played the part of York, was called "Sergeant York," and was released in 1941. It made him some money but not a great deal. A report from Warner Brothers covering the period from the release of the picture to March 2, 1946 shows that York's share of revenue from the movie amounted to $169,449.84.
With this money York paid off most or possibly all of his debts. In the Farm Credit Manager in 1942 he says, "I'll bet I'm the first person who ever paid off a Federal Land Bank loan with money from a movie." And in the same magazine he pats himself on the back when he says, "It's the wise farmers who get their debts in shape for anything that might happen."
But a lot of the money from the movie went into the York Bible School at Pall Mall that never did materialize. In a story in the Atlanta Journal and Constitution Magazine for May 14, 1961 York is quoted as saying of the Bible School that "I put up all the money except $2,000. . . . . it cost about $40,000."
It was the revenue from the movie that got the old soldier into a peck of trouble with the income tax people. He paid what his lawyers said he owed, but the IRS billed him for more than $85,000 after they refused to allow deductions of donations to York Institute on the grounds that it was not a charitable institution since it was supported by the state. This $85,000 finally snowballed to $172,000 with penalty and interest and became absolutely impossible for him to pay after his third cerebral hemorrhage in February, 1954. He had suffered his first in 1949, but from 1954 until his death ten years later he was a complete invalid. The IRS finally agreed to accept $25,000 as full payment of his income tax debt. This amount was raised by public subscription from people all over America who sympathized with the now totally disabled old soldier.
Thanks, Virginia Ridgerunner, for adding this part of Sgt York’s life. The IRS lacks good sense at times. God Bless those who contributed to, and retired, this MOH recipient’s debt.