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CULT DIRECTOR HAD HUGE INFLUENCE ON MOVIEMAKERS
Western Daily Press
September 23, 2013 Monday
Obituaries
Richard Sarafian, an influential director whose 1971 car chase
thriller Vanishing Point brought him a decades-long cult following,
has died aged 83.
His son Deran said on Saturday that Sarafian died on Wednesday at a
Southern California hospital of pneumonia contracted while recovering
from a fall.
Sarafian worked in television in his early career, directing episodes
of 1960s shows like Gunsmoke, I Spy, and the notoriously terrifying
Living Doll episode of The Twilight Zone.
But he was best known for Vanishing Point, a dark story of a
drug-fuelled auto pursuit through the Nevada desert. The film and
director had a major influence on the maverick moviemakers who would
dominate 1970s Hollywood.
Sarafian's fans included Warren Beatty, who cast him in two of his
own films, and Quentin Tarantino.
An obituary report in The Guardian says that Sarafian was born in New
York to Armenian immigrants. He would later boast of his colourful
working life, which he insisted included stints making "a few honest
bucks" smuggling whiskey from Virginia into Tennessee. He was also
employed as a researcher on Life magazine. Sarafian worked as an army
news service reporter in Korea; he met Robert Altman, who was then
directing industrial documentaries, while stationed in Kansas City.
Sarafian was initially interested in medicine and law, but a
lackadaisical approach to his studies resulted in him taking
the supposedly easier option of a film-making course at New York
University. He was employed as Altman's assistant and married Helen
Joan Altman, the director's sister. They had five children, divorced
and remarried.
He made his first film, Terror at Black Falls, in 1962, followed by
Andy (1965), a drama about a man with learning difficulties, shot as
part of a scheme by Universal to encourage new directors.
He also had acting roles in a number of high-profile films including
Bugsy (1991) and Bulworth (1998). He provided the voice of a beaver
for Dr Dolittle 2 (2001).
Sarafian's wife died in 2011. He is survived by his children, Deran,
Damon, Richard, Tedi and Catherine.
Western Daily Press
September 23, 2013 Monday
Obituaries
Richard Sarafian, an influential director whose 1971 car chase
thriller Vanishing Point brought him a decades-long cult following,
has died aged 83.
His son Deran said on Saturday that Sarafian died on Wednesday at a
Southern California hospital of pneumonia contracted while recovering
from a fall.
Sarafian worked in television in his early career, directing episodes
of 1960s shows like Gunsmoke, I Spy, and the notoriously terrifying
Living Doll episode of The Twilight Zone.
But he was best known for Vanishing Point, a dark story of a
drug-fuelled auto pursuit through the Nevada desert. The film and
director had a major influence on the maverick moviemakers who would
dominate 1970s Hollywood.
Sarafian's fans included Warren Beatty, who cast him in two of his
own films, and Quentin Tarantino.
An obituary report in The Guardian says that Sarafian was born in New
York to Armenian immigrants. He would later boast of his colourful
working life, which he insisted included stints making "a few honest
bucks" smuggling whiskey from Virginia into Tennessee. He was also
employed as a researcher on Life magazine. Sarafian worked as an army
news service reporter in Korea; he met Robert Altman, who was then
directing industrial documentaries, while stationed in Kansas City.
Sarafian was initially interested in medicine and law, but a
lackadaisical approach to his studies resulted in him taking
the supposedly easier option of a film-making course at New York
University. He was employed as Altman's assistant and married Helen
Joan Altman, the director's sister. They had five children, divorced
and remarried.
He made his first film, Terror at Black Falls, in 1962, followed by
Andy (1965), a drama about a man with learning difficulties, shot as
part of a scheme by Universal to encourage new directors.
He also had acting roles in a number of high-profile films including
Bugsy (1991) and Bulworth (1998). He provided the voice of a beaver
for Dr Dolittle 2 (2001).
Sarafian's wife died in 2011. He is survived by his children, Deran,
Damon, Richard, Tedi and Catherine.