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John D. Hancock

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
American film director
For other people named John Hancock, seeJohn Hancock (disambiguation).

John D. Hancock
Born (1939-02-12)February 12, 1939 (age 86)
Alma materHarvard University
Occupation(s)Director, producer, screenwriter

John D. Hancock (born February 12, 1939) is an American stage and film director, producer and writer. He is perhaps best known for his work onBang the Drum Slowly. Hancock's theatrical work includes direction of both classic and contemporary plays, from Shakespeare toSaul Bellow.[1]

Early life

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John was born inKansas City, Missouri, the son of Ralph and Ella Mae Rosenthal Hancock.[2] His father was a musician with theNBC Symphony Orchestra in Chicago, Illinois, and his mother a schoolteacher. Hancock spent his youth between their home in Chicago and their fruit farm inLa Porte, Indiana. In high school, he was the Assistant Concertmaster of the Chicago Youth Orchestra playing the violin.[1]

Hancock graduated fromHarvard University. He continued his theatrical studies in Europe with a grant from Harvard[3] and observedBertolt Brecht'sBerliner Ensemble.[1]

Career

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He made his directorial debut at age 22 with theOff-Broadway hit production ofBertolt Brecht'sMan Equals Man.[4] This was followed byRobert Lowell'sEndicott and the Red Cross. In 1968, Hancock directedShakespeare'sA Midsummer Night's Dream, which won him theObie Award for Distinguished Director for the 1967–68 season.[4]Cue Magazine noted, "This brutal, vulgar and erotic production of Shakespeare's sex fantasy is the most original and arresting I've ever witnessed. This is the best of all the Dreams and an important pioneering effort in re-interpreting the play."[5]

Hancock's success on the New York stage led to his appointment as Artistic Director of the famed San FranciscoActor's Workshop in 1965.[6] He later was appointed Artistic Director of thePittsburgh Playhouse[7] and The New Repertory Theatre in New York City.

Hancock worked closely on several occasions with playwright and authorTennessee Williams, who stated in his bookMemoirs that Hancock was "the only director who has ever suggested to me transpositions of material that were artistically effective..."[8]

In 1970, his "Sticky My Fingers...Fleet My Feet" was nominated for aShort-Subject Live-ActionAcademy Award.[9] Hancock directed the short film with a grant from theAmerican Film Institute.CBS purchased the movie and aired it during halftime of their Thanksgiving football game. It was released nationally with theWoody Allen featureBananas.

As a feature film director, he is best known for the 1973 filmBang the Drum Slowly, starringRobert De Niro andMichael Moriarty. Hancock's other early film credits wereLet's Scare Jessica to Death (1971)[10] andBaby Blue Marine (1976). He worked onJaws 2 (1978) before being removed from the production.

Hancock served on the board of trustees for theAmerican Film Institute between 1973 and 1977.[11]

A very difficult and controversial period for Hancock involvedJaws 2 which impacted his career as a director. Hancock did not have the experience to deal with the bureaucracy and became a pawn between the powerful political Hollywood studio players.[12] He was the original director ofJaws 2, and his wife Dorothy Tristan did rewrites of the original screenplay byHoward Sackler, who had recommended Hancock for the job.

Hancock ran into trouble with MCA executiveSid Sheinberg. Sheinberg suggested to Hancock and Tristan that his wifeLorraine Gary "should go out on a boat and help to rescue the kids." When told of the idea, producerRichard D. Zanuck replied, "Over my dead body." "Obviously, what I should have done then was to get Zanuck and Sheinberg in the same room and say: 'Okay, you guys should give me direction because I really don't want to get between you two.' I was caught between these huge forces like a babe in the woods and paid the price for it.Jaws 2 is a very bitter, painful experience that took years to recover from."[12] In June 1977, after a meeting with the producers and Universal executives, the director was abruptly fired and production shut down for a few weeks. They had been involved in the film for eighteen months.[13]Jeannot Szwarc was hired to take over as director, and the script was rewritten byCarl Gottlieb.

Hancock followed his difficult experiences onJaws 2 by directing the comedy/dramaCalifornia Dreaming (1979), starring Dennis Christopher and Hancock's actress wife, Dorothy Tristan. Ironically, Hancock later replacedMichael Wadleigh as director on the troubled allegorical horror filmWolfen (1981), which was a box office failure but has steadily built a cult reputation over the years. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Hancock directed acclaimed episodes of NBC'sHill Street Blues[1] and CBS'sThe Twilight Zone (1985 series), the latter including an adaptation of Theodore Sturgeon's science-fantasy story "A Saucer of Loneliness".[1]

He also directed the prison dramaWeeds (1987), starringNick Nolte, and the holiday family filmPrancer (1989), about an eight-year-old girl who discovers an injured reindeer she believes belongs to Santa Claus.

In 1998, Hancock opened his production company FilmAcres in LaPorte, Indiana,[14] where he spent some of his childhood. In 1999, he produced and directedA Piece of Eden starringTyne Daly. It is a semi-autobiographical story about a fruit farm and the relationship between a father and his son. The suspense thrillerSuspended Animation was directed by Hancock in 2002.

Hancock wrote and directed the playThe Brother in 2007 for a 12-week run at the Theatre Building in Chicago.[15] The spy thriller is based on the book written by Sam Roberts, a noted author andNew York Times reporter and editor.[3][15] The play is based mostly on the untold story of David Greenglass who turned inJulius and Ethel Rosenberg for giving atomic bomb secrets to the Russians. "It (The Brother) is incredibly powerful. It is exceptional and really not to be missed."[16]

In 2007, Hancock also directed a 12-week run of thePulitzer-winnernight, Mother starring Elaine Rivkin and Dorothy Tristan at the Theatre Building in Chicago which opened to rave reviews from theChicago Reader.[17]

In July 2009,Noises Off, under direction by Hancock, received generally positive reviews and sell out houses at the Wellfleet Harbor Arts Theatre Julie Harris Stage inCape Cod,Massachusetts.[18] "...Hancock displays his ability to make a play flow smoothly. A fast-paced romp from beginning to end. A backstage pass to hilarity."[19] "Director John Hancock is working here almost more as traffic cop or circus ringmaster or knife juggler as he skillfully keeps his nine actors racing through meticulous comedic choreography."[20]

Filmography

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Awards

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  • Brandeis University – Citation in Film – it reads in part: "His flair for warm comedy, gentle satire and strong emotional sensitivity combine to fashion motion pictures that are increasingly hailed by critics and audiences alike."[21]
  • Creative Arts Award Commission for "Sticky My Fingers...Fleet My Feet"
  • Academy Award Nomination for Best Short Film for "Sticky My Fingers...Fleet My Feet"
  • Outstanding Achievement Critics Choice – "Sticky My Fingers...Fleet My Feet". American Film Institute[11]
  • The Christopher Award[1]
  • First prize at Karlovy Vary[1]

Personal life

[edit]

Hancock's marriage toAnn Arensberg ended in divorce in 1974. He married actress/screenwriterDorothy Tristan in December 1975. Hancock worked closely with Tristan on a number of projects including the aborted first version ofJaws 2 in 1977 (which Tristan co-wrote with Howard Sackler) as well asCalifornia Dreaming,Weeds,A Piece of Eden,Suspended Animation andThe Looking Glass. Dorothy Tristan died January 8th 2023.

References

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  1. ^abcdefgJohn D. Hancock at Filmacres.com
  2. ^Christopher Sheid :Hancock sees both sides of human nature, NWI Times, April 23, 2000.
  3. ^ab"Acclaimed filmmaker John Hancock returns to the theatre with production of a spy thriller drama". ReelChicago.com. August 10, 2007. RetrievedApril 11, 2013.
  4. ^abJohn HancockArchived July 4, 2013, atarchive.today at the Internet Off-Broadway Database, Lortel Archives, Lucille Lortel Foundation
  5. ^Cue Magazine, 1967.
  6. ^Stone, Judith. "Making A Small Miracle",The New York Times, January 2, 1966.
  7. ^Novick, Julius (1968).Beyond Broadway The Quest for Permanent Theatres New York: Hill and Wang, SBN 8090-0547-6, p31-35
  8. ^Williams, Tennessee (1975, 2006).Memoirs, With An Introduction By John Waters, New York: A New Directions Book,ISBN 978-0-8112-1669-2, p.201.
  9. ^"Browser Unsupported - Academy Awards Search | Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences".
  10. ^Greenspun, Roger (August 28, 1971)."Let's Scare Jessica to Death".The New York Times. RetrievedMay 5, 2011.
  11. ^abAmerican Film Institute
  12. ^abJankiewicy, Patrick. (2009)Just When You Thought It Was Safe: A JAWS Companion, BearManor Media, Albany, Georgia, p.190,ISBN 1593933347
  13. ^Loynd, Ray (1978).The Jaws 2 Log. London: W.H. Allen. p. 70.ISBN 0-426-18868-3.
  14. ^"FilmAcres". Archived fromthe original on April 7, 2002. RetrievedApril 11, 2013.
  15. ^abMetz, Nina (September 7, 2007)."'Brother' turns tables on Rosenberg story".Chicago Tribune. RetrievedApril 11, 2013.
  16. ^Kleinman, Kelly. "Dueling Critics, Pick of the Week",Eight Forty-Eight, Chicago Public RadioWBEZ, September 9, 2007.
  17. ^Williams, Albert (September 20, 2007)."'night, Mother".Chicago Reader. RetrievedApril 11, 2013.
  18. ^Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater (WHAT), August 2009
  19. ^Watters, John (July 10, 2009)."WHAT'sNoises Off puts laughter center stage".Barnstable Patriot. RetrievedApril 11, 2013.
  20. ^Driscoll, Kathi Scrizzi (July 2, 2009)."WHAT's 'Noises Off' whips right along".Cape Cod Times. Archived fromthe original on October 29, 2013. RetrievedApril 11, 2013.
  21. ^Bernstein, Marvin H. Citation in Film. President Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts, 1978

External links

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Films directed byJohn D. Hancock
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