Jack O'Connell (May 2, 1923 – July 20, 2019) was an American filmmaker, actor & songwriter particularly noted for producing ''

Greenwich Village Story ''Greenwich Village Story'', a 1963 feature film written and directed by Jack O'Connell, centres on the bohemian milieu of Greenwich Village. The female protagonist, Genie (played by actress Melinda Cordell, credited here as Melinda Plank), a tale ...

'' (1963), ''Revolution'' (1968) and ''

Swedish Fly Girls ''Swedish Fly Girls'' is a 1971 Danish drama film, also known as ''Christa''. The English title is misleading, since the lead character, Christa, is Danish rather than Swedish. Plot Christa is a 23-year old Danish single mother, who as a stewardes ...

'' (1971).

Background

O'Connell was born in Boston, Massachusetts on May 2, 1923. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

he spent 3 years as a part of the

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

, including 19 months of which were spent in Europe working in signal intelligence behind the German lines. Following the war, he graduated with an BA from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

in 1947, and an MBA from

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate business school of Harvard University, a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It is consistently ranked among the top business schools in the world and offers a large full-time MBA p ...

(Advertising and Marketing major) in 1949. Subsequently, O'Connell spent ten years working in advertising on

Madison Avenue Madison Avenue is a north-south avenue in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, United States, that carries northbound one-way traffic. It runs from Madison Square (at 23rd Street) to meet the southbound Harlem River Drive at 142nd Stre ...

, creating print advertising, poster advertising, and film

commercials A television advertisement (also called a television commercial, TV commercial, commercial, spot, television spot, TV spot, advert, television advert, TV advert, television ad, TV ad or simply an ad) is a span of television programming produce ...

for national and regional clients.

Filmmaker

O'Connell first involvement in film came with working on the Italian films ''

L'Avventura ''L'Avventura'' ( en, "The Adventure") is a 1960 Italian drama film directed by Michelangelo Antonioni. Developed from a story by Antonioni with co-writers Elio Bartolini and Tonino Guerra, the film is about the disappearance of a young woman ( ...

'' and ''

La Dolce Vita ''La Dolce Vita'' (; Italian for "the sweet life" or "the good life"Kezich, 203) is a 1960 satirical comedy-drama film directed and co-written (with Ennio Flaiano, Tullio Pinelli and Brunello Rondi) by Federico Fellini. The film stars Marcell ...

'', both in 1960. O'Connell was noted for making films about the post-beat and hippie movements in San Francisco in the 1960s. O'Connell co-wrote some of the music for his films, such as ''Revolution'' played by

Mother Earth Mother Earth may refer to: *The Earth goddess in any of the world's mythologies *Mother goddess *Mother Nature, a common personification of the Earth and its biosphere as the giver and sustainer of life Written media and literature *Mother Earth ...

in the film of the same name. This film also featured Country Joe and the Fish,

Quicksilver Messenger Service Quicksilver Messenger Service is an American psychedelic rock band formed in 1965 in San Francisco. The band achieved wide popularity in the San Francisco Bay Area and, through their recordings, with psychedelic rock enthusiasts around the globe, ...

and

Steve Miller Band The Steve Miller Band is an American rock music, rock band formed in 1966 in San Francisco, California. The band is led by Steve Miller (musician), Steve Miller on guitar and lead vocals. The group had a string of mid- to late-1970s hit singles t ...

. In 1996, O'Connell released a revised version of ''Revolution'' labelled ''Hippie Revolution'', including interviews conducted in 1986 with people from the original version of the film, now speaking in hindsight about their experiences.

Filmography

References

External links

* American advertising executives American film directors United States Army personnel of World War II Harvard Business School alumni Princeton University alumni 1923 births 2019 deaths People from Boston Place of death missing {{US-film-director-1920s-stub