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IMDbPro

Irvin Kershner(1923-2010)

  • Director
  • Cinematographer
  • Actor
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Irvin Kershner
Trailer for The Last Temptation of Christ
Play trailer1:19
The Last Temptation of Christ (1988)
1 Video
20 Photos
Irvin Kershner was born on April 29, 1923 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A graduate of the University of Southern California film school, Kershner began his career in 1950, producing documentaries for the United States Information Service in the Middle East. He later turned to television, directing and photographing a series of documentaries called "Confidential File". Kershner was one of the directors given his first break by producer Roger Corman, for whom he shot Stakeout on Dope Street (1958). The main theme that runs through many of his films is social alienation and human weaknesses - although his biggest commercial success was the science fiction blockbuster Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980). Irvin Kershner died at age 87 of lung cancer in his home in Los Angeles, California on November 27, 2010.
BornApril 29, 1923
DiedNovember 27, 2010(87)
BornApril 29, 1923
DiedNovember 27, 2010(87)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
  • Nominated for 1 Primetime Emmy
    • 5 wins & 3 nominations total

Photos20

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Known for

Harrison Ford, Anthony Daniels, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, James Earl Jones, David Prowse, Kenny Baker, and Peter Mayhew in Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back
8.7
  • Director
  • 1980
Steven Seagal in On Deadly Ground (1994)
On Deadly Ground
4.6
  • Walters
  • 1994
Kim Basinger, Sean Connery, and Barbara Carrera in Never Say Never Again (1983)
Never Say Never Again
6.1
  • Director
  • 1983
Peter Weller in RoboCop 2 (1990)
RoboCop 2
5.8
  • Director
  • 1990

Credits

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IMDbPro

Director



  • SeaQuest 2032 (1993)
    SeaQuest 2032
    6.7
    TV Series
    • Director
    • 1993
  • Peter Weller in RoboCop 2 (1990)
    RoboCop 2
    5.8
    • Director
    • 1990
  • Traveling Man (1989)
    Traveling Man
    5.5
    TV Movie
    • Director
    • 1989
  • Kevin Costner, Harvey Keitel, Charlie Sheen, Christopher Lloyd, and John Lithgow in Amazing Stories (1985)
    Amazing Stories
    7.4
    TV Series
    • Director
    • 1986
  • Kim Basinger, Sean Connery, and Barbara Carrera in Never Say Never Again (1983)
    Never Say Never Again
    6.1
    • Director
    • 1983
  • Harrison Ford, Anthony Daniels, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, James Earl Jones, David Prowse, Kenny Baker, and Peter Mayhew in Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
    Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back
    8.7
    • Director
    • 1980
  • Eyes of Laura Mars (1978)
    Eyes of Laura Mars
    6.2
    • Director
    • 1978
  • Charles Bronson, Yaphet Kotto, and Peter Finch in Raid on Entebbe (1976)
    Raid on Entebbe
    6.7
    • Director
    • 1976
  • The Return of a Man Called Horse (1976)
    The Return of a Man Called Horse
    6.1
    • Director
    • 1976
  • S*P*Y*S (1974)
    S*P*Y*S
    4.5
    • Director
    • 1974
  • Barbra Streisand in Up the Sandbox (1972)
    Up the Sandbox
    5.7
    • Director
    • 1972
  • Loving (1970)
    Loving
    6.1
    • Director
    • 1970
  • Sue Lyon and Michael Sarrazin in The Flim-Flam Man (1967)
    The Flim-Flam Man
    6.8
    • Director
    • 1967
  • Sean Connery and Joanne Woodward in A Fine Madness (1966)
    A Fine Madness
    5.5
    • Director
    • 1966
  • Robert Shaw and Mary Ure in The Luck of Ginger Coffey (1964)
    The Luck of Ginger Coffey
    6.8
    • Director
    • 1964

Cinematographer



  • Confidential File (1953)
    Confidential File
    7.9
    TV Series
    • Cinematographer
    • 1955–1957
  • The Road of a Hundred Days (1953)
    The Road of a Hundred Days
    Short
    • Cinematographer
    • 1953
  • Childbirth
    Short
    • Cinematographer
    • 1950
  • Locust Plague
    Short
    • Cinematographer
    • 1950
  • Malaria
    Short
    • Cinematographer
    • 1950

Actor



  • Berkeley (2005)
    Berkeley
    4.9
    • Statistics Professor (as Irv Kershner)
    • 2005
  • John Ritter and Nestor Carbonell in Manhood (2003)
    Manhood
    5.0
    • Gentleman (as Irv Kershner)
    • 2003
  • Ariana Richards, Chris Owen, and Charlie Talbert in Angus (1995)
    Angus
    6.7
    • Mr. Stoff
    • 1995
  • Steven Seagal in On Deadly Ground (1994)
    On Deadly Ground
    4.6
    • Walters
    • 1994
  • Peter Weller in RoboCop 2 (1990)
    RoboCop 2
    5.8
    • Gerber - Death Row Inmate in Computer File (uncredited)
    • 1990
  • The Last Temptation of Christ (1988)
    The Last Temptation of Christ
    7.5
    • Zebedee
    • 1988

Videos1

The Last Temptation of Christ: The Criterion Collection [Blu-Ray]
Trailer 1:19
The Last Temptation of Christ: The Criterion Collection [Blu-Ray]

Personal details

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  • Official sites
    • Facebook
    • Official Blog
  • Alternative name
    • Irv Kershner
  • Height
    • 6′ 2″ (1.88 m)
  • Born
    • April 29, 1923
    • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
  • Died
    • November 27, 2010
    • Los Angeles, California, USA(lung cancer)
  • Other works
    (1960-61) Unsold pilot: Directed a pilot for a western series about a surgeon wandering the West after the Civil War, called "The Yank", starring James Drury (another pilot for the series was made in 1961).
  • Publicity listings
    • 6 Interviews

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    Of the three directors to direct the Star Wars films made between 1977 and 1983, the cast and crew have stated that he was their favorite director to work with, describing him as very helpful and supportive.
  • Quotes
    [on the Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977) bonus DVD, speaking about Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)] I think it went beyond "Star Wars". You had some humor, you got to know the characters a little better. I saw it as the second movement in an opera. That's why I wanted some of the things slower. And it ends in a way that you can't wait to see or to hear the vivace, the allegretto. I didn't have a climax at the end. I had an emotional climax.
  • Trademarks
      Fills up the movie frame with the characters' faces
  • Nickname
    • Kersh

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