Matinee Classics - Robert Altman Biography & Filmography

Robert Altman DIRECTOR

PHOTOS

ROBERT ALTMAN BIOGRAPHY & FILMOGRAPHY:

Robert Altman was born February 20, 1925 in Kansas City, Missouri. He was educated in Catholic schools up until high school, when he went to Rockhurst. After, he was sent to Wentworth Military Academy where he attended junior college. In 1943, Altman joined the Air Force, becoming a B-24 bomber pilot. Upon his discharge, he moved to Hollywood for a short time. Altman first attempted acting and appeared as an extra in “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” (1947). He then tried writing and helped create “Christmas Eve” (1947) and “Bodyguard” (1948). However, Altman couldn’t find his niche in the film capital, and after a stint with a publicity company that was tattooing dogs for identification, he moved to Kansas City to accept an industrial film directing, writing, editing, and cinematography position at the Calvin Company.

Sixty five industrial and documentary films later, as well as a number of directing, writing, and editing positions on picture like “Honeymoon for Harriet” (1950), “King Basketball” (1952), “How to Run a Filling Station (1953), and “Corn’s-A-Poppin’” (1956) Altman had over $60,000, which he used to finance his very own project, “The Delinquents” (1957). In 1956, he left Calvin and then came out with his second big movie, “The James Dean Story” (1957), which was a docudrama that delved into the cruel reality behind pop culture icons. Following, Altman was asked to direct a couple “Alfred Hitchcock Presents” (1957-58) episodes. He was fired, but his stint prompted him to have a successful career in television, solely directing TV series until 1965. Some of his larger projects included “Whirlybirds” (1958-59), “Bonanza” (1960-61), and “Combat!” (1962-63). In 1963, the director formed his own production company, Lion’s Gate Films. The year after, he slowly eased into his renewed film career with the television movie comprised of two of his “Kraft Suspense Theatre” (1963-64) episodes, “Nightmare in Chicago” (1964). Altman directed two shorts, “The Katharine Reed Story” (1965) and “Pot au feu” (1965), before making a comeback to the big screen with the relatively successful “Countdown” (1968). Subsequent was the equally prosperous “That Cold Day in the Park” (1969). From that point on, the director produced, on average, one to two films per year.

In 1970, he got his first big break with the black comedy “M*A*S*H” that dealt with the absurdities of the Korean War. It was quickly hailed as a classic, and earned five Oscar nominations. Later on, a television show was derived from the hit. Following, Altman found no success as great as the latter and regularly experienced shifts in popularity. He also started experimenting in various genres. “Brewster McCloud” (1970) was a fantasy that centered on a man who longed to live inside Houston’s Astrodome. “McCabe & Mrs. Miller” (1971) was considered an “anti-western”. He jumped into film noir with “The Long Goodbye” (1973), but then came out with a Depression era gangster flick right after, titled “Thieves Among Us” (1974). While all of the above turned out to be creative failures, the director redeemed himself with 1975’s “Nashville”. The musical drama earned five Academy Award nominations, as well as helped Lion’s Gate Films discover their full potential for using their eight-track sound system and microphones to create a multi-layered soundtrack. Unfortunately, his next feature, “Buffalo Bill and the Indians” or “Sitting Bull’s History Lesson” (1976), although starring Paul Newman, was a total flop.

Other failed pictures include the forty character dramatic comedy “A Wedding” (1978), sci-fi murder mystery “Quintet” (1979), and satiric “HealtH” (1980). Altman next released the Robin Williams, comic strip based musical “Popeye” (1980). Its commercial disappointment led to the director’s selling of Lion’s Gate Films, thus ending his mainstream career for over a decade. In the meantime, he came out with some critically unknown pictures, but nothing special. Altman’s return arrived with “The Player” (1992), which attacked Hollywood’s morality. Next was “Short Cuts” (1993), a confrontational look at Los Angeles society that was taken from Raymond Carver’s short stories. It also faired quite well. Unfortunately, the director’s streak ended with 1996’s “Kansas City” and 1998’s John Grisham adaptation of “The Gingerbread Man”. In 2001, Altman released the 1930s staged murder mystery picture “Gosford Park”. It won an Oscar and was nominated for six more, putting the director’s name in good regards once again. 2003 saw “The Company”, and in 2006, he directed his final feature, “A Prairie Home Companion”.

On November 30, 2006, the eighty one year old passed away from leukemia complications in Los Angeles, California. For his accomplishments in the motion picture industry, the Director’s Guild of America gave Altman a Lifetime Achievement Award. As well, he has won fifty other awards and been nominated for about the same. Once asked why the great director chose his profession, he responded: “Filmmaking is a chance to live many lifetimes.” So it is.

Filmography

2007 The Wonder of It All

2006 A Prairie Home Companion

2004 Tanner on Tanner

2003 The Company

2001 Gosford Park

2001 Roads and Bridges

2000 Dr T and the Women

2000 Trixie

1999 Cookie's Fortune

1998 The Gingerbread Man

1998 Liv

1997 Gun