R.I.P. John Schlesinger

[MacGuffin]

Ailing Director Removed From Life Support  

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (AP) - Ailing filmmaker John Schlesinger, the Oscar-winning director of "Midnight Cowboy,'' was taken off life support Thursday at a hospital here, his spokeswoman said.

The 77-year-old filmmaker suffered a debilitating stroke in December 2000. Spokeswoman Ronni Chasen said his condition at Desert Regional Medical Center has deteriorated significantly in recent weeks.

Schlesinger's last film was the 2000 comedy "The Next Best Thing'' - which starred Madonna as a straight woman who decides to have a child with her gay friend, played by Rupert Everett.

Born in London in 1926, Schlesinger was a character actor for stage, film and television and also made documentaries such as "Terminus,'' about a day in the life of a train station.

He is perhaps best known for the 1969 drama "Midnight Cowboy,'' which starred Jon Voight as a naive Texan who turns to prostitution to survive on the streets of New York, and Dustin Hoffman as the scuzzy, ailing vagrant Ratzo Rizzo.

The film was nominated for seven Academy Awards and won three - best director, best picture and best adapted screenplay.

Schlesinger had two other Oscar nominations for directing 1971's "Sunday Bloody Sunday'' and 1965's "Darling.''

As an actor, he had small roles as a doctor in the 1997 TV movie "The Twilight of the Golds'' and a prisoner in the 1956 World War II drama "The Battle of the River Plate.''

Schlesinger lives in Palm Springs with photographer Michael Childers, his companion of 30 years.

[MacGuffin]

Director John Schlesinger Dies at 77  

LOS ANGELES - John Schlesinger, whose Oscar-winning "Midnight Cowboy" and thrillers like "The Falcon and the Snowman" explored lonely underdogs in modern society, died Friday. He was 77.

The British-born filmmaker had a debilitating stroke in December 2000, and his condition deteriorated significantly in recent weeks. He was taken off life support at Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs on Thursday and died early Friday, hospital spokeswoman Eva Saltonstall said.

"He did pass this morning," she said, declining any further information.

 

[Ghostboy]

I was just wondering recently what he'd been up to.

Too bad that his last film was so forgettable. Actually, it's good that it's forgettable, since it was such a bad movie.

[edison]

I was just wondering recently what he'd been up to.

Too bad that his last film was so forgettable. Actually, it's good that it's forgettable, since it was such a bad movie.

I would rather have a good final film than a bad one.

[TheVoiceOfNick]

He was a great director, but not all of his work was great. He was very influencial in opening up film to broader and more risque themes. So long, John.

Nick

[soixante]

John Schlesinger was one of the best directors in the world.  Midnight Cowoboy not only broke new ground in terms of subject matter, but it has endured as one of the greatest films ever made.  It is one of the few Best Picture Oscar winners that actually deserved the prize.

Schlesinger also directed the superb adaptation of Thomas Hardy's Far From The Madding Crowd, and the excellent adaptation of Nathaniel West's Day of the Locust.  Seldom are literary classics transfered to the screen with their complexity intact.

Sunday Bloody Sunday was also a ground-breaker in 1971, depicting gay and bisexual characters.  Before there was such a thing as political correctness, Schlesinger simply made great films about marginalized characters.

Falcon and the Snowman contains what I feel is Sean Penn's best performance.  In fact, Schlesinger was one of the best directors of actors in the business...think of Voight and Hoffman in Midnight Cowboy, Peter Finch in Sunday Bloody Sunday, Laurence Olivier in Marathon Man, Donald Sutherland in Day of the Locust.

[chainsmoking insomniac]

Ride on, Midnight Cowboy.  R.I.P.

[Alethia]

RIP

odd - i watched midnight cowboy on a whim last night before hearing of his death...

[Pubrick]

odd - i watched midnight cowboy on a whim last night before hearing of his death...

what makes u lie?

[Alethia]

odd - i watched midnight cowboy on a whim last night before hearing of his death...

what makes u lie?

nothing - considering that I'm not.

what makes u think I'm lying?

[Pubrick]

what makes u think I'm lying?

i hav a feeling about these things.

but if i had to explain, it'd be "odd", "on a whim", and "last night".

[Alethia]

understandable, i guess.  i'll admit that i did pause for a fun way to word it......

[Alethia]

i watched "marathon man" last week. i even capped it:

nice TV

[Pubrick]

thanks, i stole the tv two weeks ago.

i totally believe u, dawg.

[Pubrick]

i'm not goin there.

trem! where are u when we need u..