Peter Bogdanovich, director of ‘Paper Moon,’ dead at 82

Peter Bogdanovich, the ascot-wearing cinephile and manager of 1970s black-and-white classics similar “The Last Picture Show” and “Paper Moon,” has died. He was 82.

Bogdanovich died aboriginal Thursday greeting astatine this location successful Los Angeles, said his daughter, Antonia Bogdanovich. She said helium died of earthy causes

Considered portion of a procreation of young “New Hollywood” directors, Bogdanovich was heralded arsenic an auteur from the start, with the chilling lone shooter movie “Targets” and soon aft “The Last Picture Show,” from 1971, his evocative representation of a small, dying municipality that earned 8 Oscar nominations, won 2 (for Ben Johnson and Cloris Leachman) and catapulted him to stardom astatine the property of 32. He followed “The Last Picture Show” with the screwball drama “What’s Up, Doc?,” starring Barbra Streisand and Ryan O'Neal, and past the Depression-era roadworthy travel movie “Paper Moon,” which won 10-year-old Tatum O’Neal an Oscar arsenic well.

Ad

His turbulent idiosyncratic beingness was besides often successful the spotlight, from his well-known matter with Cybill Shepherd that began during the making of “The Last Picture Show” portion helium was joined to his adjacent collaborator, Polly Platt, to the execution of his Playmate woman Dorothy Stratten and his consequent matrimony to her younger sister, Louise, who was 29 years younger than him.

Reactions came successful swiftly astatine the quality of his death.

“Oh dear, a shock. I americium devastated. He was a fantastic and large artist,” said Francis Ford Coppola successful an email. "I’ll ne'er forgot attending a premiere for ‘The Last Picture Show.’ I retrieve astatine its end, the assemblage leaped up each astir maine bursting into applause lasting easy 15 minutes. I’ll ne'er hide though I felt I had ne'er myself experienced a absorption similar that, that Peter and his movie deserved it. May helium slumber successful bliss for eternity, enjoying the thrill of our applause forever.”

Ad

Tatum O’Neal posted a photograph of herself with him connected Instagram, penning “Peter was my eden & earth. A begetter figure. A friend. From ‘Paper Moon’ to ‘Nickelodeon’ helium ever made maine consciousness safe. I emotion you, Peter.”

Guillermo del Toro tweeted: “He was a beloved person and a champion of Cinema. He birthed masterpieces arsenic a manager and was a astir genial human. He single-handedly interviewed and enshrined the lives and enactment of much classical filmmakers than astir anyone other successful his generation.”

Born successful Kingston, New York successful 1939, Bogdanovich started retired arsenic a movie writer and critic, moving arsenic a movie programmer astatine the Museum of Modern Art, wherever done a bid of retrospectives helium endeared himself to a big of aged defender filmmakers including Orson Welles, Howard Hawks and John Ford.

“I’ve gotten immoderate precise important one-sentence clues similar erstwhile Howard Hawks turned to maine and said ‘Always chopped connected the question and nary 1 volition announcement the cut,’” helium said successful an interrogation with The Associated Press. “It was a precise elemental condemnation but it profoundly effected everything I’ve done.”

Ad

But his Hollywood acquisition started earlier than that: His begetter took him astatine property 5 to spot Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton movies astatine the Museum of Modern Art. He'd aboriginal marque his ain Keaton documentary, “The Great Buster,” which was released successful 2018.

Bogdanovich and Platt moved to Los Angeles successful the mid-1960s, wherever they attended Hollywood parties and struck up friendships with Corman and Frank Marshall, past conscionable an aspiring producer, who helped get the movie “Targets” disconnected the ground. And the nonrecreational ascent lone continued for the adjacent fewer films and years. But aft “Paper Moon,” which Platt collaborated connected aft they had separated, helium would ne'er again seizure the accolades of those archetypal 5 years successful Hollywood.

Bogdanovich’s narration with Shepherd led to the extremity of his matrimony to Platt, with whom helium shared daughters Antonia and Sashy, and a fruitful originative partnership. The 1984 movie “Irreconcilable Differences” was loosely based connected the scandal. He aboriginal disputed the thought that Platt, who died successful 2011, was an integral portion of the occurrence of his aboriginal films.

Ad

He would spell connected to marque 2 different films with Shephard, an adaptation of Henry James’s “Daisy Miller” and the philharmonic “At Long Last Love,” neither of which were peculiarly well-received by critics oregon audiences.

And helium besides passed connected large opportunities astatine the tallness of his successes. He told Vulture helium turned down “The Godfather,” “Chinatown” and “The Exorcist.”

“Paramount called and said, “We conscionable bought a caller Mario Puzo publication called The Godfather. We’d similar you to see directing it.” I said, “I’m not funny successful the Mafia,” helium said successful the interview.

Headlines would proceed to travel Bogdanovich for things different than his movies. He began an matter with Playboy Playmate Dorothy Stratten portion directing her successful “They All Laughed," a romanticist drama with Audrey Hepburn and Ben Gazzara, successful the outpouring and summertime of 1980. Her husband, Paul Snider, murdered her that August. Bogdanovich, successful a 1984 publication titled ″The Killing of the Unicorn: Dorothy Stratten, 1960-1980,″ criticized Hugh Hefner’s Playboy empire for its alleged relation successful events helium said ended successful Stratten’s death. Then, 9 years later, astatine 49, helium joined her younger sister Louise Stratten, who was conscionable 20 astatine the time. They divorced successful 2001, but continued surviving together, with her parent successful Los Angeles

Ad

In an interrogation with the AP successful 2020, Bogdanovich acknowledged that his relationships had an interaction connected his career.

“The full happening astir my idiosyncratic beingness got successful the mode of people’s knowing of the movies,” Bogdanovich said. “That’s thing that has plagued maine since the archetypal mates of pictures.”

Despite immoderate flops on the way, Bogdanovich's output remained prolific successful the 1980s and 1990s, including a sequel to “The Last Picture Show" called “Texasville,” the state euphony romanticist play “The Thing Called Love,” which was 1 of River Phoenix's past films, and, successful 2001, “The Cat's Meow,” astir a enactment connected William Randolph Hearst's yacht starring Kirsten Dunst arsenic Marion Davies. His past communicative film, “She's Funny that Way,” a screwball drama starring Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston that helium co-wrote with Louise Stratten, debuted to mixed reviews successful 2014.

Over the years helium authored respective books astir movies, including “Peter Bogdanovich’s Movie of the Week,” “Who the Devil Made It: Conversations with Legendary Film Directors” and “Who the Hell’s successful It: Conversations with Hollywood’s Legendary Actors.”

Ad

He acted semi-frequently, too, sometimes playing himself (in “Moonlighting” and “How I Met Your Mother”) and sometimes different people, similar Dr. Elliot Kupferberg connected “The Sopranos," and besides inspired a caller procreation of filmmakers, from Wes Anderson to Noah Baumbach.

“They telephone maine ‘Pop,’ and I let it,” helium told Vulture.

At the clip of the AP interrogation successful 2020, coinciding with a podcast astir his vocation with Turner Classic Movies big Ben Mankiewicz, helium was hard astatine enactment connected a tv amusement inspired by Dorothy Stratten, and wasn’t optimistic astir the aboriginal of cinema.

“I conscionable support going, you know. Television is not dormant yet,” helium said with a laugh. “But movies whitethorn person a problem.”

Yet adjacent with his Hollywood-sized ego, Bogdanovich remained deferential to those who came before.

“I don’t justice myself connected the ground of my contemporaries," helium told The New York Times successful 1971. "I justice myself against the directors I respect — Hawks, Lubitsch, Buster Keaton, Welles, Ford, Renoir, Hitchcock. I surely don’t deliberation I’m anyplace adjacent arsenic bully arsenic they are, but I deliberation I’m beauteous good.”

Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This worldly whitethorn not beryllium published, broadcast, rewritten oregon redistributed without permission.