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IMDbPro

John Schlesinger(1926-2003)

  • Actor
  • Director
  • Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
John Schlesinger
Oscar-winning director John Schlesinger, who was born in London, on February 16, 1926, was the eldest child in a solidly middle-class Jewish family. Berbard Schlesinger, his father, was a pediatrician, and his mother, Winifred, was a musician. He served in the Army in the Far East during World War II. While attending Balliol College at Oxford, Schlesinger was involved with the Undergraduate Dramatic Society and developed an interest in photography. While at Oxford, he made his first short film, "Black Legend," in 1948. He took his degree in 1950 after reading English literature and then went into television. From 1958 through 1961, he made documentaries for the British Broadcasting Corp.

His 1960 documentary, Terminus (1961), which was sponsored by British-Transport, won him a British Academy Award and the Gold Lion at the Venice Film Festival. He made the transition to feature films in 1962, with the "kitchen sink" drama A Kind of Loving (1962), which got him noticed on both sides of the Atlantic. His next film, the Northern comedy Billy Liar (1963), was a success and began his association with actress Julie Christie, who had a memorable turn in the film. Christie won the Best Actress Academy Award and international superstardom and Schlesinger his first Oscar nomination as Best Director with his next film, the watershed Darling (1965), which dissected Swinging London. Subsequently, Schlesinger and Christie collaborated on Far from the Madding Crowd (1967), an adaptation of Thomas Hardy's classic novel, in 1967. The movie was not a success with critics or at the box office at the time, though its stature has grown over time. His next film, Midnight Cowboy (1969), earned him a place in cinema history, as it was not only a huge box office hit but also widely acclaimed as a contemporary classic. It won the Oscar for Best Picture and garnered Schlesinger an Oscar for Best Director.

Schlesinger earned his third, and last, Oscar nomination for the highly acclaimed Sunday Bloody Sunday (1971). He continued to operate at a high state of aesthetic and critical achievement with The Day of the Locust (1975), Marathon Man (1976) and Yanks (1979), but his 1981 comedy, Honky Tonk Freeway (1981), was one of the notable flops of its time, bringing in only $2 million on a $24-million budget when breakeven was calculated as three times negative cost. Although Schlesinger continued to work steadily as a director in movies and TV, he never again tasted the sweet fruits of success that he had for more than a decade, beginning in the mid-'60s.

Schlesinger's artistic fulfillment increasingly came from directing for the stage and, specifically, opera. He directed William Shakespeare's "Timon of Athens" for the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) in 1964, and after his movie career faded, he directed plays, musicals, and opera productions. After Laurence Olivier was eased out of the National Theatre in 1973, Schlesinger was named an associate director of the NT under Olivier's successor, Sir Peter Hall of the RSC.

Schlesinger suffered a stroke in December 2000. His life partner, Michael Childers, took him off life support, and he died the following day, July 24, 2003, in Palm Springs, Claifornia. He was 77 years old.
BornFebruary 16, 1926
DiedJuly 25, 2003(77)
BornFebruary 16, 1926
DiedJuly 25, 2003(77)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
  • Won 1 Oscar
    • 28 wins & 19 nominations total

Photos16

Dustin Hoffman and John Schlesinger in Marathon Man (1976)
John Schlesinger in Eye for an Eye (1996)
Julie Christie, Laurence Harvey, and John Schlesinger in Darling (1965)
Dustin Hoffman and John Schlesinger in Marathon Man (1976)
Julie Christie and John Schlesinger in Far from the Madding Crowd (1967)
Terence Stamp and John Schlesinger in Far from the Madding Crowd (1967)
John Schlesinger in The Falcon and the Snowman (1985)
Dustin Hoffman, Jon Voight, and John Schlesinger in Midnight Cowboy (1969)
Dustin Hoffman, Jon Voight, and John Schlesinger in Midnight Cowboy (1969)
Dustin Hoffman, Jon Voight, and John Schlesinger in Midnight Cowboy (1969)
Dustin Hoffman, Jon Voight, and John Schlesinger in Midnight Cowboy (1969)
Jon Voight, John Schlesinger, and Nicholas Sgarro in Midnight Cowboy (1969)

Known for

Midnight Cowboy (1969)
Midnight Cowboy
7.8
  • Director
  • 1969
Darling (1965)
Darling
7.0
  • Theatre Director(uncredited)
  • 1965
Dustin Hoffman in Marathon Man (1976)
Marathon Man
7.4
  • Director
  • 1976
Yanks (1979)
Yanks
6.4
  • Director
  • 1979

Credits

Edit
IMDbPro

Actor

  • Brendan Fraser, Jennifer Beals, Faye Dunaway, Garry Marshall, and Jon Tenney in The Twilight of the Golds (1996)
    The Twilight of the Golds
    • Dr. Adrian Lodge
    • 1996
  • Screen Two (1985)
    The Lost Language of Cranes
    • Derek Moulthorpe
    • 1991
  • Melanie Griffith, Michael Keaton, and Matthew Modine in Pacific Heights (1990)
    Pacific Heights
    • Man in Elevator (uncredited)
    • 1990
  • Brothers-in-Law (1985)
    Brothers-in-Law
    • TV Movie
    • 1985
  • Darling (1965)
    Darling
    • Theatre Director (uncredited)
    • 1965
  • Billy Liar (1963)
    Billy Liar
    • Officer in Dream (uncredited)
    • 1963
  • Ivanhoe (1958)
    Ivanhoe
    • Jack Ludlow
    • TV Series
    • 1958
  • Derek Bond, Leslie Dwyer, and John Ireland in Black Tide (1958)
    Black Tide
    • Mechanic
    • 1958
  • Armchair Theatre (1956)
    Armchair Theatre
    • Ticket Inspector
    • TV Series
    • 1957
  • Anna Gaylor in The Beasts of Marseilles (1957)
    The Beasts of Marseilles
    • Minor Role (uncredited)
    • 1957
  • A Woman of Property
    • Charles Reade
    • TV Movie
    • 1957
  • Richard Greene in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1955)
    The Adventures of Robin Hood
    • Alan-a-Dale
    • Hale
    • TV Series
    • 1956–1957
  • Christopher Beeny, Peter Bryant, Margaret Downs, Ruth Dunning, Edward Evans, Nancy Roberts, and Sheila Sweet in The Grove Family (1954)
    The Grove Family
    • Mr. Barrington
    • Mr. Gribble
    • TV Series
    • 1956–1957
  • Brian Bedford and Elvi Hale in ITV Television Playhouse (1955)
    ITV Television Playhouse
    • Head porter
    • M. Bonfils
    • TV Series
    • 1957
  • Brothers in Law (1957)
    Brothers in Law
    • Assize Court Solicitor
    • 1957

Director

  • Paul McCartney in The McCartney Years (2007)
    The McCartney Years
    • music video director
    • Video
    • 2007
  • Madonna and Rupert Everett in The Next Best Thing (2000)
    The Next Best Thing
    • Director
    • 2000
  • Paul McCartney: Little Willow
    • Director
    • Music Video
    • 1997
  • The Tale of Sweeney Todd (1997)
    The Tale of Sweeney Todd
    • Director
    • TV Movie
    • 1997
  • The Why Store: Father (1996)
    The Why Store: Father
    • Director
    • Music Video
    • 1996
  • Sally Field in Eye for an Eye (1996)
    Eye for an Eye
    • Director
    • 1996
  • Cold Comfort Farm (1995)
    Cold Comfort Farm
    • Director
    • TV Movie
    • 1995
  • Anthony Hopkins and Isabella Rossellini in The Innocent (1993)
    The Innocent
    • Director
    • 1993
  • Screen One (1985)
    Screen One
    • Director
    • TV Series
    • 1991
  • Melanie Griffith, Michael Keaton, and Matthew Modine in Pacific Heights (1990)
    Pacific Heights
    • Director
    • 1990
  • Madame Sousatzka (1988)
    Madame Sousatzka
    • Director
    • 1988
  • Martin Sheen, Helen Shaver, Malick Bowens, Harley Cross, Lee Richardson, Elizabeth Wilson, and Harris Yulin in The Believers (1987)
    The Believers
    • Director (directed by)
    • 1987
  • Timothy Hutton and Sean Penn in The Falcon and the Snowman (1985)
    The Falcon and the Snowman
    • Director (directed by)
    • 1985
  • An Englishman Abroad (1983)
    An Englishman Abroad
    • Director
    • TV Movie
    • 1983
  • Separate Tables (1983)
    Separate Tables
    • Director
    • TV Movie
    • 1983

Second Unit or Assistant Director

  • Melvyn Bragg in The South Bank Show (1978)
    The South Bank Show
    • archive director
    • TV Series
    • 1980
  • Danger Man (1960)
    Danger Man
    • second unit director
    • TV Series
    • 1960–1961
  • The Four Just Men (1959)
    The Four Just Men
    • second unit director
    • exterior unit director
    • TV Series
    • 1959–1960

Personal details

Edit
  • Official site
    • BEHP History Project
  • Born
    • February 16, 1926
    • Hampstead, London, England, UK
  • Died
    • July 25, 2003
    • Palm Springs, California, USA(complications from a stroke)
  • Children
    • No Children
  • Parents
      Bernard Schlesinger
  • Relatives
      Susan Maryott(Sibling)
  • Other works
    Directed party election broadcast for the Conservative Party.
  • Publicity listings
    • 1 Print Biography
    • 1 Interview
    • 7 Articles
    • 1 Pictorial

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    Schlesinger envisioned a cast of Al Pacino, Julie Christie and Laurence Olivier for Marathon Man (1976). Pacino has said that the only actress he had ever wanted to work with was Christie, who he claimed was "the most poetic of actresses". Producer Robert Evans, who disparaged the vertically challenged Pacino as The Midget when Francis Ford Coppola wanted him for The Godfather (1972) and had thought of firing him during the early shooting of the now-classic film, vetoed Pacino for the lead. Instead, Evans insisted on the casting of the even-shorter Dustin Hoffman! On her part, Christie -- who was notoriously finicky about accepting parts, even in prestigious, sure-fire material -- turned down the female lead, which was then taken by Marthe Keller (who, ironically, became Pacino's lover after co-starring with him in Bobby Deerfield (1977)). Of his dream cast, Schlesinger only got Olivier, who was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar. "Marathon Man" was his last unqualified hit as a film director.
  • Quotes
    Making a film is like going down a mine--once you've started you bid a metaphorical goodbye to the daylight and the outside world for the duration.
  • Salaries
      A Kind of Loving
      (1962)
      £4,000

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