Happy 81st Birthday, Peter Bogdanovich! Born today in 1939, this American film historian, critic, actor, writer, producer and director was part of the wave of "New Hollywood" directors.
Born in Kingston, New York, Bogdanovich, years later, graduated from New York City's Collegiate School in 1957. Afterwards, he studied acting at the Stella Adler Conservatory. Bogdanovich was also fluent in Serbian, having learned it before English.
Bogdanovich was influenced by the French critics of the 1950s who wrote for the French film magazine French film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film critic François Truffaut.
In the early 1960s, Bogdanovich was known as a film programmer at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, New York. An obsessive cinema-goer, he saw up to four hundred films a year in his youth.
Bogdanovich showcased the work of American directors such as John Ford and Orson Welles—whom he later wrote a book about based on the notes he had produced for the MoMA retrospective of the director—and American film director, producer and screenwriter of the classic Hollywood era Howard Hawks.
Bogdanovich also brought attention to such forgotten pioneers of American cinema as pioneering Canadian-born American motion picture director, producer, and screenwriter Allan Dwan ('Silver Lode').
Bogdanovich kept a card file of every film he saw between 1952 and 1970, with complete reviews of every feature.
In 1966, following the example of who had created the Nouvelle Vague by making their own films, Bogdanovich decided to become a director.
Two years later, Bogdanovich co-conceived, co-wrote, co-produced and directed the first film of which he is best known. This was the 1968 American Pathécolor thriller/crime film 'Targets'.
After unhinged Vietnam vet Bobby Thompson (Tim O'Kelly) kills his wife and mother, he goes on a brutal shooting spree.
Starting at an oil refinery, he evades the police and continues his murderous outing at a drive-in movie theater, where aging, embittered actor Byron Orlock (Boris Karloff), a retiring classic horror film icon, is making a promotional appearance.
Before long, Orlock, a symbol of fantastical old-fashioned scares, faces off against Thompson, a remorseless psychopath rooted in a harsh modern reality.
The film is loosely based on the real-life incident involving ex-Marine and sniper Charles Whitman, who perpetrated the University of Texas tower shooting in 1966.
'Targets' had been co-written by American screenwriter, novelist, and film director Samuel Fuller, but went uncredited. The film was also co-produced by "The Pope of Pop Cinema", American director, producer, and actor Roger Corman ('The Masque of the Red Death').
In the film, Bogdanovich appears as as a young director named Sammy Michaels.
With his first wife, American film producer, production designer and screenwriter Polly Platt (m. 1962; div., Bogdanovich headed for Los Angeles, California, skipping out on the rent in the process.
While there, Bogdanovich co-wrote and directed his second and final film of which he is best known. This was the 1971 American black and white drama film 'The Last Picture Show'.
The film follows high school seniors and best friends, Sonny Crawford (Timothy Bottoms) and Duane Jackson (Jeff Bridges), live in a dying Texas town.
The handsome Duane is dating local beauty, Jacy Farrow (Cybill Shepherd), while Sonny is having an affair with the coach's wife, Ruth Popper (Cloris Leachman). As graduation nears, both boys contemplate their futures.
While Duane eyes the U.S. Army and Sonny takes over a local business, each boy struggles to figure out if he can escape this dead-end town and build a better life somewhere else.
In the film, Bogdanovich went uncredited as the voice of a DJ.
The following year, 'The Last Picture Show' was nominated for eight Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director, Ben Johnson and Jeff Bridges for Best Supporting Actor, and Ellen Burstyn and Cloris Leachman for Best Supporting Actress with Johnson and Leachman winning.
This occurred at the 44th Academy Awards in mid-April 1972.
The film was adapted from American novelist, essayist, bookseller, and screenwriter Larry McMurty's 1966 semi-autobiographical Western fiction novel of the same name. McMurty also co-wrote the screenplay.
Before becoming a director himself, Bogdanovich built his reputation as a film writer with articles in
It consists of a collection of writings by Bogdanovich on film, including pieces he had previously written for
The title is taken from a phrase spoken by the director character Tony, rumored to be a parody of Bogdanovich, in the 1978 American action comedy/adventure film 'Hooper'.
According to Bogdanovich's personal life, his second wife was Canadian actress Louise Stratten (m. 1988; div. 2001).
Between his first and second wives, Bogdanovich had been partners with Shepherd (1971–1978) and Canadian Playboy Playmate, model, and actress Dorothy Stratten (1980–1980; her death).
The latter was the older sister of Louise. Dorothy had passed due to being murdered by a gunshot wound. She was 20.
In 1998, 'The Last Picture Show' was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.
Bogdanovich is also known for directing 'Directed by John Ford' (1971), 'What's Up, Doc?' (1972), 'Paper Moon' (1973), 'They All Laughed'(1981), 'Mask' (1985) and 'The Cat's Meow' (2001).
His most recent film is 'She's Funny That Way' (2014).
Bogdanovich has been active from 1958–present
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