Joseph Strick
Encyclopedia
Joseph Strick was an American
director
, producer and screenwriter.
Born in Braddock, Pennsylvania
, Strick briefly attended UCLA before enrolling in the Army during World War II
. In the Army, he served as a cameraman in the Army Air Forces.
In 1948, he and Irving Lerner
produced Muscle Beach
. For several years in the 1950s, Lerner, Strick, Ben Maddow
, and Sidney Meyers
worked part-time on the experimental documentary The Savage Eye
(1959).
Strick was also a successful businessman, founding Electrosolids Corp (1956), Computron Corp. (1958), Physical Sciences Corp (1958), and Holosonics Corp. (1960) In 1977 he invented the usage of six-axis motion simulators as entertainment systems and applied it to new machines used now in Disney theme parks as "Star Tours."
In the 1960s, during his first marriage, Strick commissioned what would be the only house designed by Oscar Niemeyer
in North America. The marriage ended in divorce before construction was completed, though, and Strick never occupied the house, located on the edge of Santa Monica Canyon.
The Savage Eye won the BAFTA Flaherty Documentary Award
, and was hailed as part of an "American New Wave" alongside the work of Shirley Clarke
and John Cassavetes
. In 1970, He won an Academy award for best documentary
for his movie Interviews with My Lai Veterans
. His most well-known ventures include a film adaptation of James Joyce
's Ulysses
and the movie Never Cry Wolf
(1983).
In Britain he directed at the Royal Shakespeare Company
(1964) and the National Theatre
(2003).
Strick, who had primarily resided in Paris
since the early 1970s, died in a Paris hospital of congestive heart failure
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
, producer and screenwriter.
Born in Braddock, Pennsylvania
Braddock, Pennsylvania
Braddock is a borough located in the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, 10 miles upstream from the mouth of the Monongahela River. The population was 2,159 at the 2010 census...
, Strick briefly attended UCLA before enrolling in the Army during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. In the Army, he served as a cameraman in the Army Air Forces.
In 1948, he and Irving Lerner
Irving Lerner
Irving Lerner Before becoming a filmmaker, Lerner was a research editor for Columbia University's Encyclopedia of Social Sciences, getting his start in film by making documentaries for the anthropology department. In the early 1930s, he was a member of the Workers Film and Photo League, and later,...
produced Muscle Beach
Muscle Beach (film)
Muscle Beach is a short documentary film directed by Joseph Strick and Irving Lerner, showing amateur athletes and bodybuilders at "Muscle Beach" in Santa Monica, California...
. For several years in the 1950s, Lerner, Strick, Ben Maddow
Ben Maddow
Ben Maddow was a prolific screenwriter and documentarian from the 1930s through the 70s. Educated at Columbia University, Maddow began his career working within the American documentary movement in the 30s.In 1936 he co-founded the short-lived left-wing newsreel The World Today...
, and Sidney Meyers
Sidney Meyers
Sidney Meyers was an American film director and editor.Sidney Meyers is best known for two documentary films: The Quiet One, which he wrote and directed, and for which he was nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay; and British Academy of Film and Television Arts winner The Savage Eye,...
worked part-time on the experimental documentary The Savage Eye
The Savage Eye
The Savage Eye is a "dramatized documentary" film that superposes a dramatic narration of the life of a divorced woman with documentary camera footage of an unspecified 1950s city. In a 1960 review, A. H...
(1959).
Strick was also a successful businessman, founding Electrosolids Corp (1956), Computron Corp. (1958), Physical Sciences Corp (1958), and Holosonics Corp. (1960) In 1977 he invented the usage of six-axis motion simulators as entertainment systems and applied it to new machines used now in Disney theme parks as "Star Tours."
In the 1960s, during his first marriage, Strick commissioned what would be the only house designed by Oscar Niemeyer
Oscar Niemeyer
Oscar Ribeiro de Almeida Niemeyer Soares Filho is a Brazilian architect specializing in international modern architecture...
in North America. The marriage ended in divorce before construction was completed, though, and Strick never occupied the house, located on the edge of Santa Monica Canyon.
The Savage Eye won the BAFTA Flaherty Documentary Award
British Academy Television Awards
The British Academy Television Awards are presented in an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts . They have been awarded annually since 1954, and are analogous to the Emmy Awards in the United States.-Background:...
, and was hailed as part of an "American New Wave" alongside the work of Shirley Clarke
Shirley Clarke
Shirley Clarke was an American independent filmmaker.-Early life:Born Shirley Brimberg in New York City, Shirley Clarke was the daughter of a Polish-immigrant father who made his fortune in manufacturing. Her mother was the daughter of a multimillionaire Jewish manufacturer and inventor. Her...
and John Cassavetes
John Cassavetes
John Nicholas Cassavetes was an American actor, screenwriter and filmmaker. He acted in many Hollywood films, notably Rosemary's Baby and The Dirty Dozen...
. In 1970, He won an Academy award for best documentary
Academy Award for Documentary Short Subject
This is a list of films by year that have received an Oscar together with the other nominations for best documentary short subject. Following the Academy's practice, the year listed for each film is the year of release: the awards are announced and presented early in the following year.-1940s:*1941...
for his movie Interviews with My Lai Veterans
Interviews with My Lai Veterans
Interviews with My Lai Veterans is a 1970 short documentary film directed by Joseph Strick. It won an Academy Award in 1971 for Documentary Short Subject....
. His most well-known ventures include a film adaptation of James Joyce
James Joyce
James Augustine Aloysius Joyce was an Irish novelist and poet, considered to be one of the most influential writers in the modernist avant-garde of the early 20th century...
's Ulysses
Ulysses (novel)
Ulysses is a novel by the Irish author James Joyce. It was first serialised in parts in the American journal The Little Review from March 1918 to December 1920, and then published in its entirety by Sylvia Beach on 2 February 1922, in Paris. One of the most important works of Modernist literature,...
and the movie Never Cry Wolf
Never Cry Wolf (film)
Never Cry Wolf is a 1983 American drama film directed by Carroll Ballard. The film is an adaption of Farley Mowat's 1963 autobiography of the same name and stars Charles Martin Smith as a government biologist sent into the wilderness to study the caribou population, whose decline is believed to be...
(1983).
In Britain he directed at the Royal Shakespeare Company
Royal Shakespeare Company
The Royal Shakespeare Company is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs 700 staff and produces around 20 productions a year from its home in Stratford-upon-Avon and plays regularly in London, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and on tour across...
(1964) and the National Theatre
Royal National Theatre
The Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company...
(2003).
Strick, who had primarily resided in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
since the early 1970s, died in a Paris hospital of congestive heart failure
Congestive heart failure
Heart failure often called congestive heart failure is generally defined as the inability of the heart to supply sufficient blood flow to meet the needs of the body. Heart failure can cause a number of symptoms including shortness of breath, leg swelling, and exercise intolerance. The condition...
.
External links
- 'Portrait of Joe as a Young Director'-documentary of Joe talking about 'Ulysses' and 'Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man'