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Laslo Benedek 1905 - 1992

Laslo Benedek of New York, New York County, NY was born on March 5, 1905, and died at age 87 years old on March 11, 1992.

Laslo Benedek

New York, New York County, NY 10014

March 5, 1905

March 11, 1992

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Laslo Benedek Laslo Benedek (1905 - 1992)

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Laslo Benedek's History: 1905 - 1992

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03/5

1905

Birthday

March 5, 1905

Birthdate

Unknown

Birthplace

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Professional Career

László Benedek Born Benedek László Berger László March 5, 1905 Budapest, Hungary Died March 11, 1992 (aged 87) New York City, U.S. Resting place Woodlawn Cemetery (Bronx, New York) Citizenship Hungarian American Years active 1930-1944 editor/assistant director 1944-1976 director Notable work The Wild One (1953) (director) Spouse(s) Rejtő Mária (1939-1948) (divorced) Lacerta Weiss (1950-?) (divorced, 2 children) Partner Danielle DeMers (1944-2013) Children 2 László Benedek (Hungarian pronunciation: [ˈlaːsloː ˈbɛnɛdɛk]; March 5, 1905 – March 11, 1992; sometimes Laslo Benedek) was a Hungarian-born film director and cinematographer, most notable for directing The Wild One (1953). He gained recognition for directing the film version of Death of a Salesman (1951), for which he won the Golden Globe Award for Best Director and a Best Director nomination from the Directors Guild of America. However, it was for his directorial efforts on his next project that Benedek is best remembered. His motorcycle gang film The Wild One (1953) caused a storm of controversy and was banned in the United Kingdom until 1968. Biography Early life and European career He was born in Budapest; his half-brother was George Gerbner. Benedek intended to be a psychiatrist and studied at Vienna and Berlin. He worked in the film industry to pay his bills and decided to focus on that instead. In Germany, Benedek was a cinematographer on The Mistress (1927). He was assistant director on The Great Longing (1929), directed by Steve Sekely, and edited and assisted directed The Man Who Murdered (1931) for director Curtis Bernhardt. He worked at UFA for Joe Pasternak until 1933. He assisted on Hyppolit, the Butler (1931) and edited Die Wasserteufel von Hieflau (1932), and Miss Iza (1933). When the Nazis came to power, Benedek followed Pasternak to Vienna, then Hungary, where he edited A Precocious Girl (1934) starring Franciska Gaal and Temptation (1934), both directed by Max Neufeld; he was assistant director on the latter. He went to England, where he worked as a writer on The Secret of Stamboul (1936), directed by fellow Hungarian expatriate Andrew Marton. In 1937, he moved to the US. Early US career In the US, Benedek worked on the montage scenes of Test Pilot (1938) at MGM. He edited A Little Bit of Heaven (1940) for Pasternak at Universal. At MGM he was assistant director on Song of Russia (1944) and worked as an associate producer under Joe Pasternak. Among his jobs included doing screen tests, second unit directing, and supervising the animated dance sequence in Anchors Aweigh (1945). In 1946, he was erroneously linked with communist front organizations by a gossip columnist. He had a passionate hatred for Communism. His mother lived in Hungary and when Hungarians lived under the Russians, they threatened to jail his elderly mother for lying about her age! She was over 90 at the time. Director Benedek made his feature film directing debut with The Kissing Bandit (1948) at MGM, produced by Pasternak; it was a notorious flop. He went to Eagle Lion where he directed a noir, Port of New York (1949) starring Yul Brynner. Stanley Kramer made Death of a Salesman (1951), which was a financial disappointment. He produced but did not direct Storm Over Tibet (1952) (Marton directed), and started to direct television, notably episodes of Footlights Theater and The Ford Television Theatre. Kramer gave him the job of The Wild One (1953) with Marlon Brando, initially called The Cyclist's Raid. He went over to Universal to do Bengal Rifles (1954) with Rock Hudson. Return to Europe Benedek returned to Germany to write and direct Sons, Mothers and a General (1955).[19] Back in the US he made a short with Richard Widmark, Boy with a Knife (1956), then focused on television: The Loretta Young Show, Telephone Time, Four Star Theatre, Cavalcade of America, Benedek returned to features with Affair in Havana (1957) starring John Cassavetes. He wanted to make Anna for Rank in Britain with Leslie Caron and Louis Jourdan but requested the script be rewritten and then Caron fell pregnant, causing the film to be abandoned.[20] He also directed Malaga aka Moment of Danger (1960) starring Dorothy Dandridge and Trevor Howard. This low budget crime drama was the last film made by Dandridge. In France, he wrote and directed Recourse in Grace (1960) with Raf Vallone. Television In the 1960s Benedek mostly concentrated on TV, doing episodes of Perry Mason, The Naked City, Thriller, Zane Grey Theater, The Fugitive, The Doctors and the Nurses, The Outer Limits, Mannix, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, The Untouchables, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, The Felony Squad, 12 O'Clock High, Iron Horse, and Custer. In 1965 he directed a play Belial. Final features He returned to features when he produced and directed Namu, the Killer Whale (1967), for fellow Hungarian Ivan Tors. He directed Daring Game (1968) for Tors, then The Night Visitor (1971) and Assault on Agathon (1977). Later career and death From 1976 to 1980, he was chairman of the graduate film program at New York University's School of the Arts. In 1983, he became a visiting film professor at the Annenberg School of Communication at the University of Pennsylvania. He taught at the Film Academy in Munich, Germany, at Rice University in Houston, and at Columbia University in New York City. Benedek died in 1992 in The Bronx, New York. He had two daughters, Melinda Norton and Barbara Rhodes, and at the time of his death was partner to painter and printmaker Danielle DeMers. Filmography Director Song of Russia (1944) The Kissing Bandit (1948) Port of New York (1949) Death of a Salesman (1951) The Wild One (1953) Bengal Brigade (1954) Children, Mother, and the General (West Germany, 1955) Affair in Havana (1957) Recours en grâce (France, 1960) Malaga (1960) Namu, the Killer Whale (1966) Daring Game (1968) The Night Visitor (1971) Assault on Agathon (1975) Cinematographer The Mistress (1927) The Man Who Murdered (1931) Miss Iza (1933) A Precocious Girl (1934) Editor Temptation (1934) Antonia (1935)
03/11

1992

Death

March 11, 1992

Death date

Unknown
Cause of death

Unknown
Death location

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Obituary

Laslo Benedek, 87, Film Director Known for 'Wild One,' Is Dead Share full article By William H. Honan March 14, 1992 Laslo Benedek, 87, Film Director Known for 'Wild One,' Is Dead Credit...The New York Times Archives Laslo Benedek, a cameraman, screenwriter, and director whose directing credits include "Death of a Salesman" (1951) and "The Wild One" (1953), died on Wednesday at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx. He was 87 years old and lived in Manhattan. He died after a short illness, said Tonda Marton, a friend. Mr. Benedek was born in Budapest. He pursued a medical career at schools in Vienna and Berlin, paying for his education by working as an assistant cameraman. Soon, his interest in movie-making took precedence, and he worked as a film editor in France and as a screenwriter in England. In 1937, he wound up in Hollywood, where he performed a series of lesser jobs in the film industry until 1948 when he directed Frank Sinatra in a technicolor musical called "The Kissing Bandit." Chosen by Stanley Kramer The high point of Mr. Benedek's career came in 1951 when the producer Stanley Kramer assigned him to direct the screen version of Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman," with Fredric March as Willy Loman and Mildred Dunnock as his wife, Linda. Mr. Benedek received the Hollywood Foreign Press Association's Golden Globe Award as Best Director of the Year and a nomination for Best Director from the Screen Director's Guild. He directed "The Wild One" two years later, starring Marlon Brando. The film, about a gang of menacing motorcyclists, grew out of a terrifying encounter Mr. Benedek had with a similar gang when on a Sunday drive in California. Like many Hollywood filmmakers, he also worked in television, directing over 75 shows, including episodes of "Rawhide" and "The Untouchables." From 1976 to 1980, Mr. Benedek was chairman of the graduate film program at New York University's School of the Arts. In 1983, he became a visiting film professor at the Annenberg School of Communication at the University of Pennsylvania. Later, he taught at the Film Academy in Munich, Germany; at Rice University in Houston, and Columbia University in New York City. His companion was Danielle DeMers. He is survived by two daughters, Melinda Norton of Los Angeles and Barbara Rhodes of London.

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Laslo Benedek lived 12 years longer than the average family member when died at the age of 87.

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