Peter Bogdanovich facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Peter Bogdanovich ComSE
Bogdanovich in 1973
Born	(1939-07-30)July 30, 1939 Kingston, New York, U.S.
Died	January 6, 2022(2022-01-06) (aged 82) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation	Film director actor writer film producer
Years active	1958–2022
Spouse(s)	Polly Platt ​ ​ (m. 1962; div. 1971)​ Louise Stratten ​ ​ (m. 1988; div. 2001)​
Children	2

Peter Bogdanovich (July 30, 1939 – January 6, 2022) was an American film director, writer, and actor. He was also a producer, critic, and film historian. He started his career writing about movies for magazines like Film Culture and Esquire. Later, he became a director during the exciting New Hollywood era.

Peter Bogdanovich won a BAFTA Award and a Grammy Award. He was also nominated for two Academy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards.

He worked as a film journalist before joining Roger Corman's film The Wild Angels (1966). His first movie as a director was Targets (1968). He became famous with the coming-of-age drama The Last Picture Show (1971). This film earned him Academy Award nominations for Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay. He also directed the popular films What's Up, Doc? (1972) and Paper Moon (1973).

Other films he directed include They All Laughed (1981), Mask (1985), and Noises Off (1992). He also directed The Cat's Meow (2001) and She's Funny That Way (2014).

As an actor, he was known for his role in the HBO series The Sopranos. He also appeared in Orson Welles's last film, The Other Side of the Wind (2018), which he helped finish. He won a Grammy Award for Best Music Film for directing the Tom Petty documentary Runnin' Down a Dream (2007).

Peter Bogdanovich was also a great film historian. He directed documentaries like Directed by John Ford (1971) and The Great Buster: A Celebration (2018). He wrote over ten books, including interviews with his friends Howard Hawks and Alfred Hitchcock. Many famous filmmakers say Bogdanovich's work influenced them.

Early Life and Film Passion

Peter Bogdanovich was born in Kingston, New York, on July 30, 1939. His mother, Herma, was from Austria, and his father, Borislav, was a Serb. His father was a pianist and painter. Peter learned Serbian before he learned English.

When he was twelve, in 1952, Peter started writing down every movie he watched. He kept notes and reviews on index cards. He continued this until 1970, sometimes watching up to four hundred films a year! He graduated from New York City's Collegiate School in 1957. He then studied acting at the Stella Adler Conservatory.

Starting His Film Career

Becoming a Film Expert

In the early 1960s, Bogdanovich became known for showing films at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. He organized special showings of films by famous directors like Orson Welles, John Ford, Howard Hawks, and Alfred Hitchcock. He also wrote detailed studies about their movies. He helped bring attention back to Allan Dwan, an early American film pioneer.

Before directing, he wrote for magazines like Esquire and Cahiers du Cinéma as a film critic. These articles were later put into a book called Pieces of Time (1973).

From Critic to Director

In 1966, Bogdanovich decided to become a director himself. He was inspired by French critics like François Truffaut who started making their own films. He moved to Los Angeles with his wife, Polly Platt, to pursue his dream.

He met director Roger Corman at a movie screening. Corman liked a film review Bogdanovich had written and offered him a directing job. Bogdanovich quickly accepted. He worked with Corman on Targets and Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women. He said working with Corman taught him a lot very quickly.

Major Film Successes

Friendship with Orson Welles

In 1970, Bogdanovich interviewed Orson Welles on a movie set. They became lifelong friends. Bogdanovich played a big part in helping Welles's career with his writings, including his book This is Orson Welles. When Welles had money problems, Bogdanovich even let him stay at his home for a few years.

Bogdanovich was asked to direct a documentary about John Ford for the American Film Institute. The film, Directed by John Ford (1971), included interviews with stars like John Wayne and James Stewart. It was narrated by Orson Welles.

Breakthrough Films

In 1971, Bogdanovich, at 32, was praised by critics for his film The Last Picture Show. Many called him a "Wellesian" genius. The film received eight Academy Award nominations and won two. Bogdanovich co-wrote the screenplay and won a BAFTA award for it.

He then directed the funny movie What's Up, Doc? (1972), starring Barbra Streisand and Ryan O'Neal. After this, he formed The Directors Company with Francis Ford Coppola and William Friedkin. This company helped produce Bogdanovich's next hit, Paper Moon (1973).

Paper Moon was a comedy set during the Great Depression. It starred Ryan O'Neal and his 10-year-old daughter, Tatum O'Neal, who won an Oscar for her role. This film was a high point in Bogdanovich's career.

Later Career and Challenges

After Paper Moon, Bogdanovich's next films, Daisy Miller (1974), At Long Last Love (1975), and Nickelodeon (1976), were not as successful. They received mixed reviews and didn't do well at the box office.

He took a break and then returned with Saint Jack (1979), filmed in Singapore. This film received good reviews, but it wasn't a big box-office hit.

1980s and Beyond

Continuing to Direct

Bogdanovich's next film was the romantic comedy They All Laughed (1981). He even handled the distribution of this film himself.

In 1985, Bogdanovich directed Mask, which was praised by critics. The film featured songs by Bob Seger, though Bogdanovich had wanted Bruce Springsteen's music. A special director's cut with Springsteen's songs was released later.

He directed the comedy Illegally Yours in 1988, but he later said he was not happy with it.

1990s and New Projects

In 1990, Bogdanovich adapted Texasville, a sequel to The Last Picture Show. It brought back Jeff Bridges and Cybill Shepherd in their original roles. However, it was not as successful as the first film. Bogdanovich often felt the released version was not what he intended. He later released his own cut of the film.

He directed two more films in the early 1990s: Noises Off (1992) and The Thing Called Love (1993). The Thing Called Love is known as one of River Phoenix's last roles. In the mid-1990s, Bogdanovich started working in television, directing films like To Sir, with Love II.

He also wrote several highly praised books about film history. These included Peter Bogdanovich's Movie of the Week, and books based on his interviews with famous directors and actors, like Who The Devil Made It and Who the Hell's in It.

2000s and Acting Roles

In 2001, Bogdanovich directed The Cat's Meow. It was a modest critical success but didn't make much money.

He also returned to acting, with a regular role on the TV series The Sopranos, playing Dr. Melfi's psychotherapist. He even directed an episode of the show. He had a voice role in The Simpsons and appeared as himself in How I Met Your Mother. Director Quentin Tarantino cast Bogdanovich as a disc jockey in Kill Bill: Volume 1 and Kill Bill: Volume 2.

Bogdanovich hosted The Essentials on Turner Classic Movies, where he introduced classic films. He also hosted introductions on Criterion Collection DVDs.

2010s and Final Works

In 2010, Bogdanovich joined the teaching staff at the School of Filmmaking at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. He received several awards for his contributions to film.

In 2014, his last story-based film, She's Funny That Way, was released. He followed this with the documentary The Great Buster: A Celebration in 2018. Also in 2018, Orson Welles's film The Other Side of the Wind, which had been filmed in the 1970s and featured Bogdanovich in a key role, was finally released by Netflix. Bogdanovich had long hoped to complete this film.

2020s

In 2020, Bogdanovich worked with Turner Classic Movies to create a documentary podcast about his life. A special version of his film She's Funny That Way, originally called Squirrels to the Nuts, was found and shown at the Museum of Modern Art in 2022 after his death.

Weeks before he passed away, Bogdanovich worked on a short film called LIT Project 2: Flux. This unique film was made available as a non-fungible token on the Ethereum blockchain.

Death and Lasting Impact

Peter Bogdanovich passed away on January 6, 2022, at the age of 82, due to complications from Parkinson's disease. Many directors, actors, and public figures shared tributes to him, including Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, and Barbra Streisand.

His work has inspired many filmmakers today, such as Quentin Tarantino, David Fincher, Sofia Coppola, and Wes Anderson. He is remembered as a passionate film lover and a talented filmmaker who left a big mark on Hollywood.

Filmography

As Director

Feature Films

Documentary Films

Television Directing

As Actor

Film Roles

Television Roles

Music Videos

Other Appearances

• The Wild Angels – Second unit director and uncredited writer and editor
• Great Performances – episode – James Stewart: A Wonderful Life – Himself (1987)
• Great Performances – episode – Bacall on Bogart – Himself (1988)
• John Wayne Standing Tall – TV Movie – Himself (1989)
• Ben Johnson: Third Cowboy on the Right – Documentary – Himself (1996)
• Howard Hawks: American Artist – TV Movie documentary – Himself (1997)
• Warner Bros. 75th Anniversary: No Guts, No Glory – TV Movie documentary – Himself (1998)
• John Ford Goes to War – Documentary – Himself (2002)
• Karloff and Me – Documentary – Himself (2006)
• American Masters – episode – John Ford/John Wayne: The Filmmaker and the Legend – Himself (2006)
• American Masters – episode – Hitchcock, Selznick and the End of Hollywood
• Stagecoach: A Story of Redemption – Video Documentary – Himself (2006)
• Commemoration: Howard Hawks' "Rio Bravo" – Video short – Himself (2007)
• Ride, Boldly Ride: The Journey to El Dorado: 7 Part Documentary (2009)
• Dreaming the Quiet Man – Documentary – Himself (2010)
• Peter Bogdanovich – Stagecoach Criterion Collection Edition Special Feature (2010)
• A Film of Firsts: Peter Bogdanovich on Red River – Red River Criterion Collection Edition Special Feature (2014)

Audio Commentaries and Introductions

See also

In Spanish: Peter Bogdanovich para niños