John Schlesinger
John Schlesinger CBE | |
---|---|
Born | John Richard Schlesinger 16 February 1926 London, England |
Died | 25 July 2003 Palm Springs, California, U.S. | (aged 77)
Alma mater | Balliol College, Oxford |
Occupations |
|
Partner | Michael Childers |
John Richard Schlesinger
Schlesinger started his career making British dramas A Kind of Loving (1962), Billy Liar (1963), and Far from the Madding Crowd (1967). He won the Academy Award for Best Director for Midnight Cowboy (1969) and was Oscar-nominated for Darling (1965) and Sunday Bloody Sunday (1971). He gained acclaim for his Hollywood films The Day of the Locust (1975), and Marathon Man (1976). His later films include Madame Sousatzka (1988), and Cold Comfort Farm (1995). He also served as an associate director of the Royal National Theatre.
Over his career he received numerous accolades including an
Early life
Schlesinger was born and raised in
After
Career
Schlesinger's acting career began in the 1950s and consisted of supporting roles in British films such as
By the 1960s, he had virtually given up acting to concentrate on a directing career, and another of his earlier directorial efforts, the
Schlesinger's next film,
Schlesinger directed on stage Timon of Athens (1965) for the
Schlesinger directed a party political broadcast for the Conservative Party in the general election of 1992, which featured Prime Minister John Major returning to Brixton in south London, thus highlighting Major's humble background, something atypical for a Conservative politician at that time. Schlesinger said he had voted for all three main political parties in the UK at one time or another.
Later life and death
In 1991, Schlesinger made a brief return to acting, portraying the gay character 'Derek' in the TV adaptation of The Lost Language of Cranes for the BBC. Schlesinger had himself come out during the making of Midnight Cowboy.[24]
Schlesinger was appointed
Schlesinger underwent a quadruple
Schlesinger was survived by his partner of over 30 years, photographer Michael Childers. A memorial service was held on 30 September 2003.[26] He was cremated, with most of his ashes interred next to his parents, and the remainder left to be interred with Childers.[32]
Filmography
Films
- A Kind of Loving (1962)
- Billy Liar (1963)
- Darling (1965)
- Far From the Madding Crowd (1967)
- Midnight Cowboy (1969)
- Sunday Bloody Sunday (1971)
- The Day of the Locust (1975)
- Marathon Man (1976)
- Yanks (1979)
- Honky Tonk Freeway (1981)
- The Falcon and the Snowman (1985)
- The Believers (1987)
- Madame Sousatzka (1988)
- Pacific Heights (1990)
- The Innocent (1993)
- Cold Comfort Farm (1995)
- Eye for an Eye (1996)
- The Next Best Thing (2000)
Television
- The Adventures of Aggie (1956–57)
- Separate Tables (1983) (TV)
- An Englishman Abroad (1983) (TV)
- A Question of Attribution (1991) (TV)
- Cold Comfort Farm (1995) (TV)
- The Tale of Sweeney Todd (1998) (TV)
Documentary
- Sunday in the Park (1956)
- Terminus (1961)
- Israel: A Right to Live (1967)
- Visions of Eight (segment, The Longest) (1973)
Awards and honours
He was twice nominated for the
- Best Director (1966) (Darling) – Nominated
- Best Director (1970) (Midnight Cowboy) – Won
- Best Director (1972) (Sunday Bloody Sunday) – Nominated
- Best Short Film (1962) (Terminus) – Won
- Best British Film(1966) (Darling) – Nominated
- Best Direction (1970) (Midnight Cowboy) – Won
- Best Direction (1972) (Sunday Bloody Sunday) – Won
- Best Direction (1980) (Yanks) – Nominated
- Best Single Drama (1984) (An Englishman Abroad) – Won
- Best Single Drama (1992) (A Question of Attribution) – Won
- BAFTA Fellowship (1996)
- Best Director (1966) (Darling) – Nominated
- Best Director (1970) (Midnight Cowboy) – Nominated
- Best Director (1977) (Marathon Man) – Nominated
References
- doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/92267. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- ^ ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
- ^ "Where to begin with John Schlesinger". BFI. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
- ^ "British Film Institute – Top 100 British Films – cinemarealm.com". Retrieved 25 October 2023.
- ^ Mann, 2004, pp. 46, 179
- ^ Bond, Paul (8 August 2003). "Obituary: John Schlesinger, filmmaker, 1926–2003". World Socialist Website. International Committee of the Fourth International. Retrieved 21 June 2011.
- ^ John Schlesinger, Gene D. Phillips, Twayne Publishers, 1981, p. 17
- ^ "Bernard Edward Schlesinger | RCP Museum".
- ^ Their life through letters was later published by their grandson Ian Buruma as Their Promised Land (Penguin, 1917.)
- ^ Mann, 2004, p. 54
- ^ Current Biography Yearbook 1970, ed. Charles Moritz, The H. W. Wilson Co., 1971, p. 377
- ^ Mann, 2004, p. 51
- ^ Mann, 2004, p. 58
- Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved February 22, 2020.
- ^ Rhodes, Rachel (25 November 2005). "Jocelyn Page – interview transcript" (PDF). British Library. Retrieved 2 April 2016.
- ^ Benjamin Britten on Camera Video from 10:01.
- ^ Wiebe, Heather. Britten's Unquiet Pasts: Sound and Memory in Postwar Reconstruction. Cambridge University Press, 2012: p. 153
- ^ End credits of episodes of both series.
- ^ "Berlinale: Prize Winners". berlinale.de. Archived from the original on 8 April 2011. Retrieved 3 February 2010.
- Criterion Collection.
- ^ "50 Years After Midnight Cowboy, Gay Cinema Is Still a Work in Progress". LAmag - Culture, Food, Fashion, News & Los Angeles. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
- ^ "X-Rated: Inside the Myths and Legends of Midnight Cowboy". Vanity Fair. 26 February 2021. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
- ISBN 978-1-56159-239-5.
- ^ Goldstein, Patrick (27 February 2005). "'Midnight Cowboy' and the very dark horse its makers rode in on". LA Times.
- ^ "No. 45117". The London Gazette (Supplement). 5 June 1970. p. 6373.
- ^ a b "Diaries 1996–2004". Untold Stories. p. 335.
- ISBN 978-1479328598.
- ^ Mann, 2004, p. 559
- ^ Palm Springs Walk of Stars by date dedicated
- ^ Mann, 2004, p. 556
- ^ Mann, 2004, p. 560
- ^ Mann, 2004, p. 560
Sources
- Mann, William J. (2004). Edge of Midnight: The Life of John Schlesinger. London: Hutchinson. ISBN 978-0091794897