Peter Davis (director)
Peter Davis | |
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![]() Davis in 2003 | |
Born | Peter Frank Davis January 2, 1937 Santa Monica, California, U.S. |
Nationality | American |
Occupation | Filmmaker |
Peter Frank Davis (born January 2, 1937), is an American filmmaker, author, novelist and journalist. His film
Biography
Davis was born in Santa Monica, and grew up in Upland and Pacific Palisades, CA. He has a younger sister, Jane Davis. His parents were the
Davis attended both public and private schools, graduating from Chadwick School in Palos Verdes, CA. He went on to Harvard University, where he graduated magna cum laude in 1957 with a A.B. in English literature. After college, Davis worked briefly for The New York Times and served in the U.S. Army (1959-1960). From 1961 to 1964, he worked on FDR, a 26-part television series for which he interviewed President Roosevelt's family, friends, enemies, Cabinet members and political associates.
In 1965, Davis moved to
Davis has written three nonfiction books: Hometown (1982), Where Is Nicaragua? (1987), and If You Came This Way (1995). His first novel Girl of My Dreams, about Hollywood in the 1930s, was released in 2015.
He has reported for
Davis has been married three times. His first wife was the late novelist Johanna Davis, daughter of Herman J. Mankiewicz, with whom he had two children, Tim Davis (1963) and Nick Davis (1965). His second wife is the entrepreneur Karen Zehring, with whom he had two children, Jesse Harper Zehring Davis (1980) and Antonia Isabelle Zehring Davis (1981). Davis and Zehring divorced in 1995. In 2003, Davis married the journalist Alicia Anstead, and he has one stepdaughter, Kristen Anstead. Davis has eight grandchildren. He lives in Castine, Maine.
Films
- The Berkeley Rebels (writer, 1965)
- Hunger in America (writer, 1968)
- The Heritage of Slavery (writer/producer, 1968)
- The Battle of East St. Louis (writer/producer, 1969)
- The Selling of the Pentagon (writer/producer, 1971)
- Hearts and Minds (director/co-producer, 1974)[7]
- Middletown Series (creator/producer, 1982)
- The Campaign
- The Big Game
- Community of Praise
- Family Business
- Second Time Around
- Seventeen
- The Best Hotel on Skid Row (producer, 1990)
- JACK (co-writer/executive producer, 1993)
Books
- Hometown (1982)
- Where Is Nicaragua? (1987)
- If You Came This Way (1995)
- Girl of My Dreams (2015)
References
- ^ Hearts and Minds (1974)|The Criterion Collection
- ^ Director Peter Davis Speaks to Vogue.com on the 40th Anniversary of His Pivotal Vietnam Documentary, Hearts and Minds|Vouge
- ^ Americans Who Tell the Truth
- ^ CBS Reports: "The Selling of the Pentagon"|Television Academy Interviews
- ^ The Peabody Awards -The Selling of the Pentagon
- ^ Academy Awards official site. Retrieved March 26, 2008.
- ^ Documentary Winners: 1975 Oscars
≈==External links==
- Peter Davis at IMDb
- A film clip "The Open Mind - American Values (1982)" is available for viewing at the Internet Archive
- Peter Davis: Hearts and Minds Papers, 1930-1974 (University Archives and Special Collections, Joseph P. Healey Library, University of Massachusetts Boston)
- Peter Davis at Icarus Films