John Schlesinger(1926-2003)
- Actor
- Director
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Oscar-winning director John Schlesinger, who was born in London,
on February 16, 1926, was the eldest child in a solidly
middle-class Jewish family. Berbard Schlesinger, his father, was a
pediatrician, and his mother, Winifred, was a musician. He served in the
Army in the Far East during World War II. While attending Balliol
College at Oxford, Schlesinger was involved with the Undergraduate
Dramatic Society and developed an interest in photography. While at
Oxford, he made his first short film, "Black Legend," in 1948. He took
his degree in 1950 after reading English literature and then went into
television. From 1958 through 1961, he made documentaries for the
British Broadcasting Corp.
His 1960 documentary, Terminus (1961),
which was sponsored by British-Transport, won him a British Academy
Award and the Gold Lion at the Venice Film Festival. He made the
transition to feature films in 1962, with the "kitchen sink" drama
A Kind of Loving (1962), which
got him noticed on both sides of the Atlantic. His next film, the
Northern comedy Billy Liar (1963), was
a success and began his association with actress
Julie Christie, who had a
memorable turn in the film. Christie won the Best Actress Academy Award
and international superstardom and Schlesinger his first Oscar
nomination as Best Director with his next film, the watershed
Darling (1965), which dissected Swinging
London. Subsequently, Schlesinger and Christie collaborated on
Far from the Madding Crowd (1967),
an adaptation of Thomas Hardy's
classic novel, in 1967. The movie was not a success with critics or at
the box office at the time, though its stature has grown over time.
His next film,
Midnight Cowboy (1969), earned
him a place in cinema history, as it was not only a huge box office
hit but also widely acclaimed as a contemporary classic. It won the
Oscar for Best Picture and garnered Schlesinger an Oscar for Best
Director.
Schlesinger earned his third, and last, Oscar nomination for the highly
acclaimed
Sunday Bloody Sunday (1971).
He continued to operate at a high state of aesthetic and critical
achievement with
The Day of the Locust (1975),
Marathon Man (1976) and
Yanks (1979), but his 1981 comedy,
Honky Tonk Freeway (1981), was
one of the notable flops of its time, bringing in only $2 million on a
$24-million budget when breakeven was calculated as three times
negative cost. Although Schlesinger continued to work steadily as a
director in movies and TV, he never again tasted the sweet fruits of
success that he had for more than a decade, beginning in the mid-'60s.
Schlesinger's artistic fulfillment increasingly came from directing for
the stage and, specifically, opera. He directed
William Shakespeare's "Timon
of Athens" for the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) in 1964, and after
his movie career faded, he directed plays, musicals, and opera
productions. After Laurence Olivier was
eased out of the National Theatre in 1973, Schlesinger was named an
associate director of the NT under Olivier's successor, Sir
Peter Hall of the RSC.
Schlesinger suffered a stroke in December 2000. His life partner,
Michael Childers, took him off
life support, and he died the following day, July 24, 2003, in Palm
Springs, Claifornia. He was 77 years old.
on February 16, 1926, was the eldest child in a solidly
middle-class Jewish family. Berbard Schlesinger, his father, was a
pediatrician, and his mother, Winifred, was a musician. He served in the
Army in the Far East during World War II. While attending Balliol
College at Oxford, Schlesinger was involved with the Undergraduate
Dramatic Society and developed an interest in photography. While at
Oxford, he made his first short film, "Black Legend," in 1948. He took
his degree in 1950 after reading English literature and then went into
television. From 1958 through 1961, he made documentaries for the
British Broadcasting Corp.
His 1960 documentary, Terminus (1961),
which was sponsored by British-Transport, won him a British Academy
Award and the Gold Lion at the Venice Film Festival. He made the
transition to feature films in 1962, with the "kitchen sink" drama
A Kind of Loving (1962), which
got him noticed on both sides of the Atlantic. His next film, the
Northern comedy Billy Liar (1963), was
a success and began his association with actress
Julie Christie, who had a
memorable turn in the film. Christie won the Best Actress Academy Award
and international superstardom and Schlesinger his first Oscar
nomination as Best Director with his next film, the watershed
Darling (1965), which dissected Swinging
London. Subsequently, Schlesinger and Christie collaborated on
Far from the Madding Crowd (1967),
an adaptation of Thomas Hardy's
classic novel, in 1967. The movie was not a success with critics or at
the box office at the time, though its stature has grown over time.
His next film,
Midnight Cowboy (1969), earned
him a place in cinema history, as it was not only a huge box office
hit but also widely acclaimed as a contemporary classic. It won the
Oscar for Best Picture and garnered Schlesinger an Oscar for Best
Director.
Schlesinger earned his third, and last, Oscar nomination for the highly
acclaimed
Sunday Bloody Sunday (1971).
He continued to operate at a high state of aesthetic and critical
achievement with
The Day of the Locust (1975),
Marathon Man (1976) and
Yanks (1979), but his 1981 comedy,
Honky Tonk Freeway (1981), was
one of the notable flops of its time, bringing in only $2 million on a
$24-million budget when breakeven was calculated as three times
negative cost. Although Schlesinger continued to work steadily as a
director in movies and TV, he never again tasted the sweet fruits of
success that he had for more than a decade, beginning in the mid-'60s.
Schlesinger's artistic fulfillment increasingly came from directing for
the stage and, specifically, opera. He directed
William Shakespeare's "Timon
of Athens" for the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) in 1964, and after
his movie career faded, he directed plays, musicals, and opera
productions. After Laurence Olivier was
eased out of the National Theatre in 1973, Schlesinger was named an
associate director of the NT under Olivier's successor, Sir
Peter Hall of the RSC.
Schlesinger suffered a stroke in December 2000. His life partner,
Michael Childers, took him off
life support, and he died the following day, July 24, 2003, in Palm
Springs, Claifornia. He was 77 years old.