Irvin Kershner | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Isadore Kershner (1923-04-29)April 29, 1923 |
| Died | November 27, 2010(2010-11-27) (aged 87) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Alma mater | University of Southern California |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1952–2009 |
| Children | 2 |
Irvin Kershner (bornIsadore Kershner; April 29, 1923 – November 27, 2010) was an Americandirector for film and television. Early in his career as a filmmaker he directed quirky, independentdrama films, while working as a lecturer at theUniversity of Southern California. Later, he began making high-budgetblockbusters such asStar Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, theJames Bond adaptationNever Say Never Again andRoboCop 2. Through the course of his career, he received numerous accolades, including being nominated for both aPrimetime Emmy Award and aPalme d'Or.
Irvin Kershner was born inPhiladelphia, toUkrainian-Jewish parents.[1][2] His artistic and cultural background was a mixture of music and art. The study of music (violin,viola andcomposition) was the most important activity of his early years.[3] He attendedTemple University'sTyler School of Fine Arts in Philadelphia. Later, he went toNew York andProvincetown to study with the famous painting teacherHans Hofmann. He then moved toLos Angeles where he studied photography at theArt Center College of Design.[4]
DuringWorld War II, Kershner served three years with theU.S. Eighth Air Force as aflight engineer.[1] He later began his film career at theUniversity of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts, teaching photography and taking cinema courses underSlavko Vorkapić, amontage artist and then-dean of the School. Kershner then accepted a job asstill photographer on aState Department film project inIran under thePoint Four Program, which ultimately led to an assignment as a director andcinematographer of documentaries in Iran,Greece andTurkey with theUnited States Information Service.
When he returned to the States, he andPaul Coates developedConfidential File, a documentary television series. Kershner worked as writer, director, cinematographer and editor. He later developed and directed the television seriesThe Rebel (1959–61), as well as thepilots forPeyton Place,Cain's Hundred,Philip Marlowe, and others.[5]
He then moved on to feature films, including:The Hoodlum Priest (which starredDon Murray);The Luck of Ginger Coffey (withRobert Shaw andMary Ure);A Fine Madness (withSean Connery,Joanne Woodward, andJean Seberg);The Flim-Flam Man (starringMichael Sarrazin,George C. Scott andSue Lyon);Loving (withGeorge Segal andEva Marie Saint);Up the Sandbox (withBarbra Streisand);The Return of a Man Called Horse (starringRichard Harris); the critically acclaimed TV movieRaid on Entebbe (a true-life drama which was nominated for nineEmmys, including Best Direction); and the supernatural thrillerEyes of Laura Mars (starringFaye Dunaway andTommy Lee Jones).[6]
Kershner was the son of Jewish immigrants.[2] He considered himself aninternationalist, saying: "I've been a student ofChristianity. I've been interested in the historical basis of theMuslim religion. I studiedBuddhism. I don't think of myself as a Jew except by birth, as I don't follow the customs. I'm a Jew because other people consider me so. My pride is in being international."[7]
Kershner directedThe Empire Strikes Back (1980), the sequel of the 1977 hit filmStar Wars.[8] Writer-producerGeorge Lucas knew Kershner as a teacher in the film program atUSC School of Cinematic Arts.[9] Kershner was a surprising choice in directing the film. According to Kershner himself, he once asked Lucas: "Of all the younger guys around, all the hot-shots, why me?" Lucas replied: "Well, because you know everything aHollywood director is supposed to know, but you're not Hollywood."[10]
Kershner, who was an appealing directorial candidate to Lucas because of his concern forcharacter development, was at first reluctant to direct the film.[11] When asked by Lucas to work on the project over lunch, Kershner refused. Kershner's agent was told about the meeting and encouraged him to take the job. Kershner later discussed his motivations: "I was grabbed by the fairytale which Lucas invented and wanted to be part of keeping it alive."[12] Of his cinematic style, Kershner has said: "I like to fill up the frame with the characters' faces. There's nothing more interesting than the landscape of the human face".[13]
Kershner turned down a chance to directReturn of the Jedi (1983), having spent almost three years of work onThe Empire Strikes Back.Richard Marquand was eventually chosen to direct the third film in the original trilogy. Kershner stated, in retrospect, that he would have accepted an offer to direct one of the films of theStar Warsprequel trilogy had they been produced sooner, as Lucas originally estimated thefirst of them to be ready for release in 1988 rather than in 1999.[11]
Kershner had projects with which he was going to be involved in the late 1970s and early 1980s. He signed on to direct an adaptation ofI, Robot from a script byHarlan Ellison, which was never filmed.[14] Later, he was initially hired by producersRichard Zanuck andDavid Brown to direct an adaptation of Eric Van Lustbader's novelThe Ninja from scripts byW.D. Richter andTom Cole, but the project was cancelled following months of pre-production.[15]
AfterEmpire Strikes Back, Kershner directedNever Say Never Again (Sean Connery's return to the role ofJames Bond), theHBO filmTraveling Man (starringJohn Lithgow andJonathan Silverman, this film earned Kershner anACE Award nomination), andRoboCop 2. He also directed the pilot of the television seriesseaQuest DSV, and he made his debut as an actor in theMartin Scorsese filmThe Last Temptation of Christ (1988), in which he playedZebedee, the father of theapostlesJames andJohn. He played a film director inSteven Seagal'sOn Deadly Ground. He was a faculty member at theMaster of Professional Writing Program at theUniversity of Southern California.[16] In 2000, he was a member of the jury at the22nd Moscow International Film Festival.[17]
In fall 2002, spring 2003, fall 2004, and spring 2004, Kershner served as a Visiting Professor and Research Associate at theMaryland Institute for Technology in the Humanities (MITH) at theUniversity of Maryland, College Park, where he also provided cinematography training.[18] He and the founding directorMartha Nell Smith remained close and he served as her advisor until the end of his life.
Kershner died on November 27, 2010, at his home in Los Angeles, after suffering fromlung cancer for 3 and a half years.[1][2] Kershner had been working on photographic projects before his death.[19] He was looked after by his two sons, David and Dana.[2]
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1958 | Stakeout on Dope Street | Also screenwriter |
| 1959 | The Young Captives | |
| 1961 | The Hoodlum Priest | OCIC Award Nominated-Palme d'Or |
| 1963 | Face in the Rain | |
| 1964 | The Luck of Ginger Coffey | |
| 1966 | A Fine Madness | |
| 1967 | The Flim-Flam Man | |
| 1970 | Loving | |
| 1972 | Up the Sandbox | |
| 1974 | S*P*Y*S | |
| 1976 | The Return of a Man Called Horse | |
| 1978 | Eyes of Laura Mars | |
| 1980 | The Empire Strikes Back | Saturn Award for Best Director Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation |
| 1983 | Never Say Never Again | |
| 1990 | RoboCop 2 |
| Year | Title | Role | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | The Last Temptation of Christ | Zebedee | Martin Scorsese | |
| 1990 | RoboCop 2 | Gerber | Himself | Uncredited |
| 1994 | On Deadly Ground | Walters | Steven Seagal | |
| 1995 | Angus | Mr. Stoff | Patrick Read Johnson | |
| 2003 | Manhood | Gentleman | Bobby Roth | |
| 2005 | Berkeley | Statistics Professor | Final film role |
| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Wildfire | Zalman King | Executive |
| 1997 | American Perfekt | Paul Chart | |
| 2009 | The Lost Tribe | Roel Reiné | Executive |
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1955 | Confidential File | Episode: "Horror Comic Books" |
| 1959 | Now Is Tomorrow | Television film |
| 1959–61 | The Rebel | 35 episodes |
| 1961 | Cain's Hundred | Episode: "Degrees of Guilt" |
| Ben Casey | Episode: "My Good Friend Krikor" | |
| 1962–1963 | Naked City | 2 episodes |
| 1963 | Kraft Suspense Theatre | Episode: "The End of the World, Baby" |
| 1977 | Raid on Entebbe | Television film Nominated-Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing in a Special Program |
| 1986 | Amazing Stories | Episode: "Hell Toupee" |
| 1989 | Traveling Man | Television film |
| 1993 | SeaQuest DSV | Episode: "To Be or Not to Be" |
