Arthur Penn

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Biography

Recent Role:
on Law & Order
Gender:
Male
Born:
9-27-1922
Died:
9-28-2010 (Congestive heart failure)
Birthplace:
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Birth Name:
Arthur Hiller Penn
One of the top directors of 1950s live TV, Arthur Penn moved into the big time after an apprenticeship as floor manager and assistant director in the very early days - given his later career, it's extraordinary to think he once worked with Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis on the "Colegate Comdy Hour". Like several other TV directors of that era, he did some plays on Broadway - unlike most of the others, he had major success here, too, and did a lot of theatre work. His first film, "The Left-Handed Gun" was based on a TV play; his second, "The Miracle Worker", was based on one of his biggest stage… More successes. It was his fifth movie, "Bonnie And Clyde" in 1967, that marked him as one of the American cinema's brightest talents, and Ingmar Bergman, no less, called him "one of the greatest directors in the world". But in the 70s, his career in movies declined, and in his old age he returned to television - with much success.

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    10 Perfect
    Arthur Penn amassed a critically acclaimed body of work though the 1960s and 1970s. hide show

    After making a name for himself as a director of quality television dramas, Penn made his feature debut with a Western, The Left Handed Gun (1958). A re-telling of the Billy the Kid legend, it was notable for its sharp portrayal of the outlaw (played by Paul Newman) as a psychologically troubled youth (the role was originally intended for the archetypal troubled teen James Dean). Penn's next film was The Miracle Worker (1962), the story of Anne Sullivan struggle to teach the blind and deaf Helen Keller how to communicate. It garnered two Academy Awards. Throughout the years, Penn has maintained an affiliation with Yale University, occasionally teaching classes there. http://arthurpenn.com/

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    jannicacraft Added Oct 21, 2009 All my reviews
 

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