Stuart Rosenberg | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1927-08-11)August 11, 1927 New York City, U.S.[1] |
| Died | March 15, 2007(2007-03-15) (aged 79) |
| Alma mater | New York University[1] |
| Occupation(s) | Film and television director |
| Spouse | Margot Pohoryles |
Stuart Rosenberg (August 11, 1927 – March 15, 2007) was an American film and television director. He was most noted for his collaborations with actorPaul Newman, whom he directed inCool Hand Luke (1967),WUSA (1970),Pocket Money (1972), andThe Drowning Pool (1975). He was a five-timeDirectors Guild of America Award nominee, and aPrimetime Emmy Award winner.
His other notable films includedQuestion 7 (1961),Voyage of the Damned (1976),The Amityville Horror (1979),Brubaker (1980) andThe Pope of Greenwich Village (1984).[2] Later in his career, he taught directing at theAmerican Film Institute, where his students includedTodd Field andDarren Aronofsky.[3]
Rosenberg was born to Jewish parents inBrooklyn, New York on August 11, 1927. He studiedIrish literature atNew York University,[1] and began working as an apprentice film editor while in graduate school.[1]
After advancing to film editor, he began directing with episodes of the television seriesDecoy (1957–1959), starringBeverly Garland as an undercover police woman. It was the first police series on American television built around a female protagonist.[citation needed] Over the next two years, Rosenberg directed 15 episodes of the police-detective seriesNaked City (1958–1963), which likeDecoy was shot in New York City.[citation needed] Meanwhile, Rosenberg was then hired to direct his first film,Murder, Inc. (1960), starringPeter Falk, but a strike by both theScreen Actors Guild and theWriters Guild resulted in his leaving the film and being replaced by its producer, Burt Balaban. Rosenberg returned to television, directing 15 episodes ofThe Untouchables, eight of theanthology seriesBob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre, five ofAlfred Hitchcock Presents, and three ofThe Twilight Zone, along with episodes ofAdventures in Paradise,The Barbara Stanwyck Show,Ben Casey,Rawhide withClint Eastwood, and Falk'sThe Trials of O'Brien. He won a 1963Emmy Award for directing "The Madman",[citation needed] one of his 19 episodes of the courtroom dramaThe Defenders.
Following the U.S.-German co-productionQuestion 7 (1961), filmed in West Berlin, Rosenberg shot the 1965 TV movieMemorandum for a Spy and the 1966 telefilmFame Is the Name of the Game. In July 1965, he was signed to a non-exclusive contract with actor Jack Lemmon's independent film production company, Jalem Productions, which called for the director to make for them three pictures in five years.[4] This led to his major-studio distributed debut, thePaul Newman hitCool Hand Luke (1967). Rosenberg had come acrossDonn Pearce'schain gang novel and developed the film with actorJack Lemmon's production company Jalem.[citation needed] He was next announced to direct Lemmon in the comedy filmThe Job Hunter, based on a novel by Allen R. Dodd, for Jalem Productions-Warner Brothers Pictures, but this was abandoned.[5] Also for Jalem Productions, he madeThe April Fools (1969), with French actressCatherine Deneuve in her American debut oppositeJack Lemmon (who plays the first Rosenberg lead character named H. Brubaker).[6]
Other Rosenberg films include the Newman moviesWUSA (1970),Pocket Money (1972) andThe Drowning Pool (1975); theWalter Matthau police-detective thrillerThe Laughing Policeman (1973); theCharles Bronson action pictureLove and Bullets (1979); and another action movieLet's Get Harry (1986), for which Rosenberg used the pseudonymAlan Smithee. He was famous for straight dramas and especially crime films. The most acclaimed movie he did afterCool Hand Luke wasThe Pope of Greenwich Village.[citation needed] Years later, Rosenberg replacedBob Rafelson on the prison movieBrubaker (1980).
He made his last film, the independent dramaMy Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys in 1991.
In 1992, Rosenberg became a teacher at theAmerican Film Institute. Among his students wereTodd Field,Darren Aronofsky,Mark Waters,Scott Silver,Doug Ellin andRob Schmidt.[7]
Rosenberg died in 2007 of a heart attack at his home in Beverly Hills, California. He was survived by his wife Margot Pohoryles, whom he had met atNew York University; son Benjamin Rosenberg, afirst assistant director; as well as four grandchildren.[7]
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