Richard Rush (director) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Richard Rush
Richard Rush
Born	(1929-04-15)April 15, 1929 New York City, U.S.
Died	April 8, 2021(2021-04-08) (aged 91) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation	Film director, producer, screenwriter
Years active	1960–2001

Richard Rush (born April 15, 1929 – died April 8, 2021) was an American film director, writer, and producer. He is best known for directing the movie The Stunt Man. For this film, he was nominated for an Oscar for Best Director. Richard Rush also directed Freebie and the Bean, a popular police comedy-drama. He helped write the script for the 1990 film Air America.

Discovering Richard Rush's Life

His Early Years

Richard Rush grew up loving stories. He was especially interested in the writer Marcel Proust and the Batman comics. He was one of the first students to study film at the UCLA film program. After finishing college, Rush worked on television shows for the U.S. military. These shows highlighted America's role in the Korean War.

Later, Rush started his own company. He made commercials and films for businesses.

Making His First Movies

When he was 30, Richard Rush was inspired by a French director named François Truffaut. Truffaut's film The 400 Blows showed a new, realistic style. Rush decided to sell his business to make his first feature film. This movie was called Too Soon to Love (1960). He made it with a small budget of $50,000. He then sold it to Universal Pictures for $250,000 to be shown in theaters. The film featured an early appearance by actor Jack Nicholson. Nicholson later starred in two more of Rush's films.

Rush also directed Of Love and Desire (1963), which starred Merle Oberon.

Action and Adventure Films

Richard Rush made several exciting movies in the 1960s. His third film was a spy movie called A Man Called Dagger (1966). This was his first time working with the talented camera person László Kovács.

He directed a car racing film for American International Pictures called Thunder Alley (1967). It starred Fabian Forte and Annette Funicello.

Rush also made The Fickle Finger of Fate (1967) and a biker movie called Hells Angels on Wheels (1967), which again starred Jack Nicholson. He then made two more films for AIP: Psych-Out (1968), a movie about the counter-culture, and another biker film, The Savage Seven (1968).

Working with Big Studios

Richard Rush signed a deal with Columbia Pictures. His first movie for a major studio was Getting Straight in 1970. It starred Elliott Gould and Candice Bergen. This film was very successful. The famous Swedish director Ingmar Bergman even called it the "best American film of the decade."

Rush's next movie was Freebie and the Bean in 1974. While some critics didn't like it, audiences loved it. The movie earned over $30 million at the box office, which was a lot of money back then!

The Stunt Man: A Special Film

In 1981, the French director François Truffaut was asked about his favorite American director. He said he didn't know the name, but he had just seen a film called The Stunt Man. This movie took Richard Rush nine years to create.

The Stunt Man was a mix of different styles: a comedy, a thriller, a romance, and an action-adventure. It also explored ideas about Hollywood movies. The film featured a main character who had faced challenges and found new worlds. The Stunt Man earned Richard Rush Oscar nominations for Best Director and Best Script.

Richard Rush's Later Work

Richard Rush was involved in the movie Air America. However, due to some issues during its making, he was paid to leave the project. This allowed actors Mel Gibson and Robert Downey, Jr. to join the cast.

Rush did not direct another film for four years. His next movie was Color of Night in 1994, which did not do well at the box office. After this, Rush stepped back from making big commercial films.

His last project was a documentary about the making of The Stunt Man. It was called The Sinister Saga of Making "The Stunt Man" (2001).

Richard Rush lived in Bel Air with his wife, Claudia. He passed away on April 8, 2021, at his home in Los Angeles, just before his 92nd birthday. He had been dealing with health problems for a long time.

Richard Rush's Filmography

See also

In Spanish: Richard Rush para niños