[ and began his career teaching at ]Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world.
Charte ...
and Creighton University
Creighton University is a private Jesuit research university in Omaha, Nebraska. Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1878, the university is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. In 2015 the university enrolled 8,393 graduate and undergra ...
, where he was head of the theatre department until 1950. Although Petrie stopped teaching, he maintained a strong relationship with the academic world throughout his career, holding a faculty position at the American Film Institute
The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees.
Lead ...
, where he also acted as deputy chairman from 1986 to 1987.
Career
Petrie started working as a television director in 1950. His signature film ''A Raisin in the Sun
''A Raisin in the Sun'' is a play by Lorraine Hansberry that debuted on Broadway in 1959. The title comes from the poem "Harlem" (also known as "A Dream Deferred") by Langston Hughes. The story tells of a black family's experiences in south Chi ...
'' (1961) was assigned to him after it was refused to its original director on Broadway, future National Medal of Arts
The National Medal of Arts is an award and title created by the United States Congress in 1984, for the purpose of honoring artists and patrons of the arts. A prestigious American honor, it is the highest honor given to artists and arts patrons ...
honoree Lloyd Richards
Lloyd George Richards (June 29, 1919 – June 29, 2006) was a Canadian-American theatre director, actor, and dean of the Yale School of Drama from 1979 to 1991, and Yale University professor emeritus.
Biography
Richards was born in Toron ...
, because Richards was black. The movie maintained the award-winning cast and performances it had had on Broadway during its two-year successful run under Richards' direction, and the film version was nominated for the Palme d'Or
The Palme d'Or (; en, Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festival's highest prize was the Grand Prix du Fe ...
award at the Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films ...
. Petrie went on to have a fulfilling movie directing career because of the success of this movie; Richards did not get an opportunity to direct a movie again until 1995.
Petrie directed '' Buster and Billie'' (1974); the Academy Award
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
-nominated ''Resurrection
Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. In a number of religions, a dying-and-rising god is a deity which dies and is resurrected. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions, whic ...
'' (1980); '' Fort Apache, The Bronx'' (1981); and '' Cocoon: The Return'' (1988).
Petrie also directed television movies, such as ''Sybil
Sibyls were oracular women believed to possess prophetic powers in ancient Greece.
Sybil or Sibyl may also refer to:
Films
* ''Sybil'' (1921 film)
* ''Sybil'' (1976 film), a film starring Sally Field
* ''Sybil'' (2007 film), a remake of the 19 ...
'', ''Eleanor and Franklin ''Eleanor and Franklin'' may refer to:
* ''Eleanor and Franklin'' (book), 1971 biography by Joseph P. Lash
** '' Eleanor: The Years Alone'', 1972 companion volume to the previous biography
* ''Eleanor and Franklin'' (miniseries), 1976 television ...
'', '' Eleanor and Franklin: The White House Years'', ''The Dollmaker
''The Dollmaker'' is a 1984 American made-for-television drama film starring Jane Fonda and based on the 1954 novel of the same title written by Harriette Arnow. It was originally broadcast on ABC on May 13, 1984.
Fonda was awarded the Pr ...
'', '' My Name Is Bill W.'', ''Mark Twain and Me'', ''Kissinger and Nixon'', '' Inherit the Wind'', and '' Wild Iris''.
Petrie's theatrical films were rarely box-office successes, but they often featured large, well-known casts, such as '' The Betsy'' (1978), starring Laurence Olivier
Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier (; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director who, along with his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud, was one of a trio of male actors who dominated the British stage ...
, Tommy Lee Jones
Tommy Lee Jones (born September 15, 1946) is an American actor and film director. He has received four Academy Award nominations, winning Best Supporting Actor for his performance as U.S. Marshal Samuel Gerard in the 1993 thriller film '' T ...
and Robert Duvall
Robert Selden Duvall (; born January 5, 1931) is an American actor and filmmaker. His career spans more than seven decades and he is considered one of the greatest American actors of all time. He is the recipient of an Academy Award, four Gold ...
. His films feature the earliest starring screen appearances by such stars as Winona Ryder
Winona Laura Horowitz (born October 29, 1971), professionally known as Winona Ryder, is an American actress. Originally playing quirky roles, she rose to prominence for her more diverse performances in various genres in the 1990s. She has recei ...
(''Square Dance
A square dance is a dance for four couples, or eight dancers in total, arranged in a square, with one couple on each side, facing the middle of the square. Square dances contain elements from numerous traditional dances and were first documente ...
'' - she first appeared in a supporting role in '' Lucas'') and Kiefer Sutherland
Kiefer William Sutherland (born 21 December 1966) is a British-Canadian actor and musician. He is best known for his starring role as Jack Bauer in the Fox drama series ''24 (TV series), 24'' (2001–2010, 2014), for which he won an Emmy Award ...
(''The Bay Boy
''The Bay Boy'' is a 1984 Canadian drama film. It is a semi-autobiographical film based on director Daniel Petrie's experiences of growing up in Glace Bay, a mining town on Cape Breton Island, during the Great Depression. It features the screen de ...
''). As a television director he won multiple Emmy and Directors Guild of America Awards.
Death
Petrie died of cancer
Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...
in 2004 in Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...
, California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
, at the age of 83.
Filmography
Film
Television
Telefilms and limited series
Awards and nominations
Film festivals
The Petrie family
Petrie was married for 57 years to Dorothea Grundy Petrie, an Emmy-winning film and television producer. Their sons were Daniel
Daniel is a masculine given name and a surname of Hebrew origin. It means "God is my judge"Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 68. (cf. Gabriel—"God is my strength"), ...
and Donald, both successful directors and screenwriters. Their twin daughters were former MGM executive June
June is the sixth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and is the second of four months to have a length of 30 days, and the third of five months to have a length of less than 31 days. June contains the summer solstice in ...
and actor/writer Mary
Mary may refer to:
People
* Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name)
Religious contexts
* New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below
* Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...
. In 2002, the family as a whole was awarded the American Film Institute
The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees.
Lead ...
's ''Platinum Circle Award'' to recognise their collective creative contributions.
References
External links
Canadian Film Encyclopedia
publication of The Film Reference Library/a division of the Toronto International Film Festival Group*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Petrie, Daniel
1920 births
2004 deaths
Canadian expatriate film directors in the United States
Film directors from Nova Scotia
Deaths from cancer in California
Best Screenplay Genie and Canadian Screen Award winners
People from Glace Bay
Directors Guild of America Award winners
Primetime Emmy Award winners
Film directors from Los Angeles
20th-century screenwriters
Canadian expatriates in the United Kingdom
Canadian expatriates in the United States