| Issue #35, November 24, 2006 |
ROBERT ALTMAN, 81
Robert Altman, star of this year’s “A Conversation With” panel at the Hamptons International Film Festival, passed away Monday, November 20. A tireless creator, Altman once, ironically now, quipped, “Retirement? You’re talking about death, right?” Now that he has retired, his collection of songs, plays, films and television shows, as well as a colorful life story, will be his legacy.
Robert Altman was born in Kansas City, Missouri, on February 20, 1925. In 1945, he skipped college to join the United States Air Force, and was soon the copilot of a B-24. However, his fascination with the movies soon overtook his military aspirations, and he and his first wife, Yvonne, moved to Hollywood. After brief stints as an actor, screenwriter, and Broadway-style musical writer, he accepted a job as the publicity director of a pet-identification company.
Creative in all of his endeavors, Altman devised a way to “Identi-Code” animals by tattooing a code on them, which could be used to identify lost pets. His system was so successful that he was asked to tattoo President Truman’s dog, among many others. In 1950, Altman returned home to Kansas City to work for a local film production company called Calvin Co. At Calvin Co., the young filmmaker wrote, edited and directed over sixty short films, as well as one feature film, The Delinquents (1957). When not producing films for Calvin Co., he wrote another feature, produced a television series, and directed a community theater troupe. Before the release of The Delinquents, Robert Altman returned to Hollywood once again, this time to direct Alfred Hitchcock’s television show, “Alfred Hitchcock Presents.” He continued to direct television shows until he was offered the script for the 1970 hit film MASH. Directing MASH put Robert Altman on Hollywood’s A-list, and he produced consistently brilliant work from that day forward.
In 2006, Altman received an honorary Oscar Award for Lifetime Achievement in Film. He has also been honored with the New York Film Critic’s Circle Award for Best Director and Best Picture (Nashville, 1975). His many films, including Gosford Park (2001), The Player (1992), Nashville (1975), and MASH (1970), placed him in the very top echelon of Hollywood writers, directors and producers.
Always modest about his success, Altman claimed that his signature directorial style was simply an amalgamation of other directors’ styles. “Everything I’ve learned has come from other directors: Bergman, Fellini, Kurosawa, Huston and Renoir,” he explained. Anyone who has been fortunate enough to see or participate in his films knows that, for all his humility, Robert Altman was one of a kind. Credited with coaxing great performances from all of his actors, he led six of them, including Lily Tomlin and Helen Mirrin, in Academy Award-winning performances.
Robert Altman was as prolific in family making as he was in filmmaking, and he is survived by his wife, Kathryn Reed, and sons Robert, Matthew, Stephen, and Mike, his daughter, Christine, and stepdaughter, Konni Corriere.
Robert Altman once said, “filmmaking is a chance to live many lifetimes;” the many lifetimes he created in his films enriched the lives of all who had the pleasure of watching them. He will be missed.
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