- Film director Peter Bogdanovich died at the age of 82.
- In the early 1970s he was considered one of the most important young directors in Hollywood.
- His best-known films include “Last Picture Show”, “What’s up Doc” and “Paper Moon”.
As a young director in the 1970s, he was hailed as Hollywood’s “child prodigy”. Now Peter Bogdanovich, who became known through films like “The Last Picture Show”, “What’s Up Doc” and “Paper Moon”, died at the age of 82. According to his daughter Antonia Bogdanovich, he died in his home in Los Angeles, as reported by the New York Times and the Hollywood Reporter.
When the young director conjured up a perfect portrait of the American countryside in the 1950s with “The Last Picture Show” on the screen, he became famous overnight and compared to the director Welles. Further successes followed with the comedy “What’s Up Doc” with Barbra Streisand and Ryan O’Neal, and the melancholy road movie “Paper Moon” with the young Tatum O’Neal.
Often also through private life in the headlines
“I was hot,” said Bogdanovich in a “Vulture” interview. In Hollywood at that time he was offered directing films such as “The Godfather”, “The Exorcist” or “Chinatown”. Anyway, Bogdanovich lived a colorful life. In his Texas nostalgia, the young actress Cybill Shepherd had given Bogdanovich the role of the adored student Jacy.
Legend:
It was also the start of a longstanding affair between the married filmmaker and his leading actress, Shepherd.
Reuters / Archives
During the filming of the comedy “They all laughed” he fell in love again with the actress and Playboy model Dorothy Stratten. Her husband at the time, Paul Snider, killed the 20-year-old and killed himself. After Stratten’s death, he was completely exhausted, Bogdanovich explained in “Vulture”.
Later he seldom directs feature films
In 2001 he brought Kirsten Dunst in front of the camera for “The Cat’s Meow”. In the comedy “She’s Funny That Way” he let his stars Jennifer Aniston, Owen Wilson, Rhys Ifans and Imogen Poots stumble through all sorts of amorous entanglements.
Legend:
He presented the film at the 2014 Venice Film Festival with Kathryn Hahn and Owen Wilson.
Reuters / Archives
Bogdanovich did not receive an Oscar in his long career, but he is the holder of a Grammy trophy. The director earned it with his music documentary “Runnin ‘Down a Dream” about the band Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. He won the coveted music award for directing the “Best Long Music Video”.