Stuart Rosenberg

Stuart Rosenberg was an American film and television director whose notable works included the movies Cool Hand Luke 1967 Voyage of the Damned 1976 The Amityville Horror 1979 and The Pope of Greenwich Village 1984 He was noted for his work with actor Paul Newman Rosenberg was born in Brooklyn New York City the son of Sara née Kaminsky and David Rosenberg He studied Irish literature at New York University in Manhattan and began working as an apprentice film editor while in graduate school After advancing to film editor he then transitioned into directing with episodes of the syndicated TV series Decoy 195759 It was the first police series on American television built around a female protagonist Over the next two years Rosenberg directed 15 episodes of the ABC policedetective series Naked City also shot in New York City Fifteen episodes of The Untouchables followed eight of the anthology series Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre five of Alfred Hitchcock Presents and three of The Twilight Zone along with episodes of Adventures in Paradise The Barbara Stanwyck Show Ben Casey Rawhide with Clint Eastwood and Falks The Trials of OBrien among other shows He won a 1963 Emmy Award for directing The Madman one of his 19 episodes of the courtroom drama The Defenders Following the Lutheranfinanced USGerman coproduction Question 7 1961 filmed in West Berlin Germany Rosenberg shot the 1965 TVmovie Memorandum for a Spy and the 1966 telefilm Fame Is the Name of the Game before making his majorstudio debut with the Paul Newman hit Cool Hand Luke 1967 Rosenberg had come across Donn Pearces chain gang novel and developed the film with actor Jack Lemmons production company Jalem Years later Rosenberg would replace Bob Rafelson on another prison movie Brubaker 1980 starring Robert Redford Other Rosenberg films include The April Fools 1969 with French actress Catherine Deneuve in her American debut opposite Jack Lemmon the Newman movies WUSA 1970 Pocket Money 1972 and The Drowning Pool 1975 the Walter Matthau policedetective thriller The Laughing Policeman 1973 the Charles Bronson action picture Love and Bullets 1979 and another action movie Lets Get Harry 1986 for which Rosenberg used the Directors Guild of America pseudonym Alan Smithee He was famous for straight dramas and especially crime films The most acclaimed movie he did after Cool Hand Luke was The Pope of Greenwich Village with Eric Roberts Mickey Rourke and Daryl Hannah He made his last film the independent drama My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys in 1991 In 1993 Rosenberg became a teacher at the American Film Institute Among his students were those who would go on to make names for themselves Todd Field Darren Aronofsky Mark Waters Scott Silver Doug Ellin and Rob Schmidt Rosenberg died in 2007 of a heart attack at his home in Beverly Hills California He was survived by his wife Margot Pohoryles whom he had met at NYU son Benjamin Rosenberg a first assistant director as well as four grandchildren His students films The Spiderwick Chronicles The Alphabet Killer and The Wrestler that were released in 2008 were dedicated in memory of him