Al Wasserman (February 9, 1921 - March 31, 2005) was an American documentary filmmaker. He earned an Academy Award in 1947, and created and worked on documentary series including '' NBC White Paper'' (1960–1980) and ''

60 Minutes ''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who chose to set it apart from other news programs by using a unique styl ...

'' (1968-).

Life

Born in the Bronx on February 9, 1921, Wasserman was the only child of Beatrice Schaffer Wasserman, and her husband, pharmacist Martin Wasserman. He earned a Bachelor of Science from the

City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a public university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York City. Founded in 1847, Cit ...

in 1941, and married Della Newmark two years later. The couple had two children, though their union eventually ended in divorce. Wasserman later married Barbara Mailer Alson in 1968. Wasserman died of lung cancer at Cabrini Hospital in Manhattan on March 31, 2005. He was 84.

Career

Documentary film

Wasserman served in the United States Navy during World War II and worked as a

freelance ''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance w ...

filmmaker after the war ended. Wasserman earned an Academy Award in

1947 It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Events January * January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country in ...

for his documentary '' First Steps'', which portrayed the experiences of disabled children in

physical therapy Physical therapy (PT), also known as physiotherapy, is one of the allied health professions. It is provided by physical therapists who promote, maintain, or restore health through physical examination, diagnosis, management, prognosis, patient ...

. He was also the producer of films such as ''Out of Darkness'' (1956). He was employed as a staff writer, director and producer at

CBS-TV CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...

from 1955 to 1960, making several films for ''The Search'', a TV documentary series which won a

Sylvania Award The Sylvania Awards were given by the television manufacturer Sylvania Electric Products for various categories of television performance, broadcasting, scripts, music and other aspects of production between 1951 and 1959. In their day they rivaled ...

(in

1955 Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijian ...

) for network public service. He then moved to NBC, where he became the founding producer of the

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

-winning documentary series ''White Paper'' (1960–1980). Wasserman was personally nominated for two Emmy Awards for his writing on the show, in

1961 Events January * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba ( Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 ...

(with John Barron) and in

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wors ...

(with Arthur Zegart); a ''White Paper'' film about war in Angola also earned him the Hillman Prize in 1961. The filmmaker left NBC to form his own independent production company, Wasserman Productions, in 1967, though the company was later dissolved in the mid-1970s. In 1973, he directed the film ''The Making of the President 1972'', based on the book by

Theodore H. White Theodore Harold White (, May 6, 1915 – May 15, 1986) was an American political journalist and historian, known for his reporting from China during World War II and the ''Making of the President'' series. White started his career reporting for ...

. However, the film’s release was delayed until 1975 due to the uncovering of the Watergate Scandal. He later worked as a producer at ''60 Minutes'' (1968-) from 1976 until his retirement in 1986.

Photography

Having led a successful career in film production, Wasserman used his retirement to explore his passion for still photography. His work has been exhibited in New York City and

Provincetown, MA Provincetown is a New England town located at the extreme tip of Cape Cod in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, in the United States. A small coastal resort town with a year-round population of 3,664 as of the 2020 United States Census, Provincet ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wasserman, Al 1921 births People from the Bronx American documentary filmmakers 2005 deaths