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John Schlesinger

January 03, 2023

John Richard Schlesinger[1] CBE (/ˈʃlɛsɪndʒər/; 16 February 1926 – 25 July 2003) was an English film and stage director. He won the Academy Award for Best Director for Midnight Cowboy, and was nominated for the same award for two other films (Darling and Sunday Bloody Sunday).

John Schlesinger

CBE
Schlesinger in 1974
Born
John Richard Schlesinger

(1926-02-16)16 February 1926
London, England
Died25 July 2003(2003-07-25) (aged 77)
Palm Springs, California, U.S.
Alma materUniversity of Oxford
OccupationFilmmaker
Years active1946–2003

Early life

Schlesinger was born and raised in Hampstead, London,[2] in a Jewish family,[3] the eldest of five children[4] of distinguished Emmanuel College, Cambridge-educated paediatrician and physician Bernard Edward Schlesinger (1896–1984), OBE, FRCP, who had also served in the Royal Army Medical Corps as a brigadier,[5] and his wife Winifred Henrietta, daughter of Hermann Regensburg, a stockbroker from Frankfurt.[6] She had left school at 14 to study at the Trinity College of Music, and later studied languages at the University of Oxford for three years.[7][8] Bernard Schlesinger's father Richard, a stockbroker, had come to England in the 1880s from Frankfurt.[9]

After St Edmund's School, Hindhead and Uppingham School (where his father had also been),[10] Schlesinger enlisted in the British Army during World War II. While serving with the Royal Engineers, he made films on the war's front line. He also entertained his fellow troops by performing magic tricks.[11] After his tour of duty, he continued making short films and acted in stage productions while studying at Balliol College, Oxford, where he was involved in the Oxford University Dramatic Society.[12]

Career

Schlesinger's acting career began in the 1950s and consisted of supporting roles in British films such as The Divided Heart and Oh... Rosalinda!!, and British television productions such as BBC Sunday Night Theatre, The Adventures of Robin Hood and The Vise. He began his directorial career in 1956 with the short documentary Sunday in the Park about London's Hyde Park. In 1958, Schlesinger created a documentary on Benjamin Britten and the Aldeburgh Festival for the BBC's Monitor TV programme, including rehearsals of the children's opera Noye's Fludde featuring a young Michael Crawford.[13][14] In 1959, Schlesinger was credited as exterior or second unit director on 23 episodes of the TV series The Four Just Men and four 30-minute episodes of the series Danger Man.[15] He also appeared in Col March of Scotland Yard as "Dutch cook" in "Death and the Other Monkey" 1956.

By the 1960s, he had virtually given up acting to concentrate on a directing career, and another of his earlier directorial efforts, the British Transport Films' documentary Terminus (1961), gained a Venice Film Festival Gold Lion and a British Academy Award. His first two fiction films, A Kind of Loving (1962) and Billy Liar (1963) were set in the North of England. A Kind of Loving won the Golden Bear award at the 12th Berlin International Film Festival in 1962.[16] His third feature film, Darling (1965), tartly described the modern way of life in London and was one of the first films about 'swinging London'. Schlesinger's next film was the period drama Far from the Madding Crowd (1967), an adaptation of Thomas Hardy's popular novel accentuated by beautiful English country locations. Both films (and Billy Liar) featured Julie Christie as the female lead.

Schlesinger's next film, Midnight Cowboy (1969), was internationally acclaimed. A story of two hustlers living on the fringe in the bad side of New York City, it was Schlesinger's first film shot in the US, and it won Oscars for Best Director and Best Picture. During the 1970s, he made an array of films that were mainly about loners, losers and people outside the mainstream world, such as Sunday Bloody Sunday (1971), The Day of the Locust (1975), Marathon Man (1976) and Yanks (1979). Later, came the major box office and critical failure of Honky Tonk Freeway (1981), followed by films that attracted mixed responses from the public, and low returns, although The Falcon and the Snowman (1985) made money and Pacific Heights (1990) was a box-office hit. In Britain, he did better with films like Madame Sousatzka (1988) and Cold Comfort Farm (1995). Other later works include An Englishman Abroad (1983), the TV play A Question of Attribution (1991), The Innocent (1993) and The Next Best Thing (2000).

Schlesinger also directed Timon of Athens (1965) for the Royal Shakespeare Company and the musical I and Albert (1972) at London's Piccadilly Theatre. From 1973, he was an associate director of the Royal National Theatre, where he produced George Bernard Shaw's Heartbreak House (1975). He also directed several operas, beginning with Les contes d'Hoffmann (1980) and Der Rosenkavalier (1984), both at Covent Garden.[17] Schlesinger also 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, where he had spent his teenage years, which highlighted his humble background, atypical for a Conservative politician. Schlesinger admitted to having voted for all three main political parties in the UK at one time or another.

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.[18]

Schlesinger was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 1970 Birthday Honours for services to film.[19][20] A resident of Palm Springs, California[21] Schlesinger had a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars dedicated to him in 2003.[22]

Death

Schlesinger underwent a quadruple heart bypass in 1998, before suffering a stroke on New Year's Day 2001.[23] He was taken off life support at Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs on 24 July 2003, and he died early the following day at the age of 77. He was survived by his partner of over 30 years, photographer Michael Childers. A memorial service was held on 30 September 2003.[20]

Awards and nominations

Academy Awards

BAFTA Awards

Golden Globe Awards

  • Best Director (1966) (Darling) – Nominated
  • Best Director (1970) (Midnight Cowboy) – Nominated
  • Best Director (1977) (Marathon Man) – Nominated

Filmography

Feature films

Television films

Documentary films

References

  1. ^ "Schlesinger, John Richard (1926–2003)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/92267. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  2. ^ Mann, 2004, pp. 46, 179
  3. ^ Bond, Paul (8 August 2003). "Obituary: John Schlesinger, filmmaker, 1926–2003". World Socialist Website. International Committee of the Fourth International. Retrieved 21 June 2011.
  4. ^ John Schlesinger, Gene D. Phillips, Twayne Publishers, 1981, p. 17
  5. ^ "Bernard Edward Schlesinger | RCP Museum".
  6. ^ Their life through letters was later published by their grandson Ian Buruma as Their Promised Land (Penguin, 1917.)
  7. ^ Mann, 2004, p. 54
  8. ^ Current Biography Yearbook 1970, ed. Charles Moritz, The H. W. Wilson Co., 1971, p. 377
  9. ^ Mann, 2004, p. 51
  10. ^ Mann, 2004, p. 58
  11. ^ John Schlesinger on Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved February 22, 2020.
  12. ^ Rhodes, Rachel (25 November 2005). "Jocelyn Page – interview transcript" (PDF). British Library. Retrieved 2 April 2016.
  13. ^ Benjamin Britten on Camera Video from 10:01.
  14. ^ Wiebe, Heather. Britten's Unquiet Pasts: Sound and Memory in Postwar Reconstruction. Cambridge University Press, 2012: p. 153
  15. ^ End credits of episodes of both series.
  16. ^ . berlinale.de. Archived from the original on 8 April 2011. Retrieved 3 February 2010.
  17. ^ Millington, Barry (2001). "John Schlesinger". In Sadie, Stanley; Tyrrell, John (eds.). The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (2nd ed.). London: Macmillan. ISBN 978-1-56159-239-5.‎
  18. ^ Goldstein, Patrick (27 February 2005). "'Midnight Cowboy' and the very dark horse its makers rode in on". LA Times.
  19. ^ "No. 45117". The London Gazette (Supplement). 5 June 1970. p. 6373.
  20. ^ a b "Diaries 1996–2004". Untold Stories. p. 335.
  21. ^ Meeks, Eric G. (2014) [2012]. The Best Guide Ever to Palm Springs Celebrity Homes. Horatio Limburger Oglethorpe. pp. 41–43. ISBN 978-1479328598.
  22. ^
  23. ^ Mann, 2004, p. 556

Sources

  • Mann, William .J (2004). Edge of Midnight: The Life of John Schlesinger. London: Hutchinson. ISBN 978-0091794897

External links

  • John Schlesinger at IMDb
  • at the TCM Movie Database
  • John Schlesinger at the BFI's Screenonline
  • Senses of Cinema: Great Directors Critical Database
  • Literature on John Schlesinger
  • Interview at the British Entertainment History Project

January 03, 2023
john, schlesinger, john, richard, schlesinger, february, 1926, july, 2003, english, film, stage, director, academy, award, best, director, midnight, cowboy, nominated, same, award, other, films, darling, sunday, bloody, sunday, cbeschlesinger, 1974bornjohn, ri. John Richard Schlesinger 1 CBE ˈ ʃ l ɛ s ɪ n dʒ er 16 February 1926 25 July 2003 was an English film and stage director He won the Academy Award for Best Director for Midnight Cowboy and was nominated for the same award for two other films Darling and Sunday Bloody Sunday John SchlesingerCBESchlesinger in 1974BornJohn Richard Schlesinger 1926 02 16 16 February 1926London EnglandDied25 July 2003 2003 07 25 aged 77 Palm Springs California U S Alma materUniversity of OxfordOccupationFilmmakerYears active1946 2003 Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 3 Death 4 Awards and nominations 5 Filmography 5 1 Feature films 5 2 Television films 5 3 Documentary films 6 References 7 Sources 8 External linksEarly life EditSchlesinger was born and raised in Hampstead London 2 in a Jewish family 3 the eldest of five children 4 of distinguished Emmanuel College Cambridge educated paediatrician and physician Bernard Edward Schlesinger 1896 1984 OBE FRCP who had also served in the Royal Army Medical Corps as a brigadier 5 and his wife Winifred Henrietta daughter of Hermann Regensburg a stockbroker from Frankfurt 6 She had left school at 14 to study at the Trinity College of Music and later studied languages at the University of Oxford for three years 7 8 Bernard Schlesinger s father Richard a stockbroker had come to England in the 1880s from Frankfurt 9 After St Edmund s School Hindhead and Uppingham School where his father had also been 10 Schlesinger enlisted in the British Army during World War II While serving with the Royal Engineers he made films on the war s front line He also entertained his fellow troops by performing magic tricks 11 After his tour of duty he continued making short films and acted in stage productions while studying at Balliol College Oxford where he was involved in the Oxford University Dramatic Society 12 Career EditSchlesinger s acting career began in the 1950s and consisted of supporting roles in British films such as The Divided Heart and Oh Rosalinda and British television productions such as BBC Sunday Night Theatre The Adventures of Robin Hood and The Vise He began his directorial career in 1956 with the short documentary Sunday in the Park about London s Hyde Park In 1958 Schlesinger created a documentary on Benjamin Britten and the Aldeburgh Festival for the BBC s Monitor TV programme including rehearsals of the children s opera Noye s Fludde featuring a young Michael Crawford 13 14 In 1959 Schlesinger was credited as exterior or second unit director on 23 episodes of the TV series The Four Just Men and four 30 minute episodes of the series Danger Man 15 He also appeared in Col March of Scotland Yard as Dutch cook in Death and the Other Monkey 1956 By the 1960s he had virtually given up acting to concentrate on a directing career and another of his earlier directorial efforts the British Transport Films documentary Terminus 1961 gained a Venice Film Festival Gold Lion and a British Academy Award His first two fiction films A Kind of Loving 1962 and Billy Liar 1963 were set in the North of England A Kind of Loving won the Golden Bear award at the 12th Berlin International Film Festival in 1962 16 His third feature film Darling 1965 tartly described the modern way of life in London and was one of the first films about swinging London Schlesinger s next film was the period drama Far from the Madding Crowd 1967 an adaptation of Thomas Hardy s popular novel accentuated by beautiful English country locations Both films and Billy Liar featured Julie Christie as the female lead Schlesinger s next film Midnight Cowboy 1969 was internationally acclaimed A story of two hustlers living on the fringe in the bad side of New York City it was Schlesinger s first film shot in the US and it won Oscars for Best Director and Best Picture During the 1970s he made an array of films that were mainly about loners losers and people outside the mainstream world such as Sunday Bloody Sunday 1971 The Day of the Locust 1975 Marathon Man 1976 and Yanks 1979 Later came the major box office and critical failure of Honky Tonk Freeway 1981 followed by films that attracted mixed responses from the public and low returns although The Falcon and the Snowman 1985 made money and Pacific Heights 1990 was a box office hit In Britain he did better with films like Madame Sousatzka 1988 and Cold Comfort Farm 1995 Other later works include An Englishman Abroad 1983 the TV play A Question of Attribution 1991 The Innocent 1993 and The Next Best Thing 2000 Schlesinger also directed Timon of Athens 1965 for the Royal Shakespeare Company and the musical I and Albert 1972 at London s Piccadilly Theatre From 1973 he was an associate director of the Royal National Theatre where he produced George Bernard Shaw s Heartbreak House 1975 He also directed several operas beginning with Les contes d Hoffmann 1980 and Der Rosenkavalier 1984 both at Covent Garden 17 Schlesinger also 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 where he had spent his teenage years which highlighted his humble background atypical for a Conservative politician Schlesinger admitted to having voted for all three main political parties in the UK at one time or another 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 18 Schlesinger was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire CBE in the 1970 Birthday Honours for services to film 19 20 A resident of Palm Springs California 21 Schlesinger had a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars dedicated to him in 2003 22 Death EditSchlesinger underwent a quadruple heart bypass in 1998 before suffering a stroke on New Year s Day 2001 23 He was taken off life support at Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs on 24 July 2003 and he died early the following day at the age of 77 He was survived by his partner of over 30 years photographer Michael Childers A memorial service was held on 30 September 2003 20 Awards and nominations EditAcademy Awards Best Director 1966 Darling Nominated Best Director 1970 Midnight Cowboy Won Best Director 1972 Sunday Bloody Sunday NominatedBAFTA Awards 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 Golden Globe Awards Best Director 1966 Darling Nominated Best Director 1970 Midnight Cowboy Nominated Best Director 1977 Marathon Man NominatedFilmography EditFeature films Edit 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 films Edit 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 films Edit Sunday in the Park 1956 Terminus 1961 Israel A Right to Live 1967 Visions of Eight segment The Longest 1973 References Edit Schlesinger John Richard 1926 2003 Oxford Dictionary of National Biography online ed Oxford University Press doi 10 1093 ref odnb 92267 Subscription or UK public library membership required 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 John Schlesinger on 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 Millington Barry 2001 John Schlesinger In Sadie Stanley Tyrrell John eds The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians 2nd ed London Macmillan 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 Meeks Eric G 2014 2012 The Best Guide Ever to Palm Springs Celebrity Homes Horatio Limburger Oglethorpe pp 41 43 ISBN 978 1479328598 Palm Springs Walk of Stars by date dedicated Mann 2004 p 556Sources EditMann William J 2004 Edge of Midnight The Life of John Schlesinger London Hutchinson ISBN 978 0091794897External links Edit Biography portalJohn Schlesinger at IMDb John Schlesinger at the TCM Movie Database John Schlesinger at the BFI s Screenonline Senses of Cinema Great Directors Critical Database Literature on John Schlesinger Interview at the British Entertainment History Project Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title John Schlesinger amp oldid 1130045221, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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