Leon Jacques Gast (March 30, 1936 – March 8, 2021) was an American documentary film director, producer, cinematographer, and editor. His documentary, ''

When We Were Kings ''When We Were Kings'' is a 1996 American documentary film directed by Leon Gast about the "Rumble in the Jungle" heavyweight championship match that was held on October 30, 1974, in Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo) between world ...

'' depicts the iconic heavyweight boxing match:

The Rumble in the Jungle George Foreman vs. Muhammad Ali, billed as ''The Rumble in the Jungle'', was a heavyweight championship boxing match on October 30, 1974, at the 20th of May Stadium (now the Stade Tata Raphaël) in Kinshasa, Zaire (now Democratic Republic of t ...

between

Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and activist. Nicknamed "The Greatest", he is regarded as one of the most significant sports figures of the 20th century, a ...

and

George Foreman George Edward Foreman (born January 10, 1949) is an American former professional boxer, entrepreneur, minister and author. In boxing, he was nicknamed "Big George" and competed between 1967 and 1997. He is a two-time world heavyweight champio ...

. This film would go on to win the 1996

Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...

and the

Independent Spirit Award The Independent Spirit Awards (abbreviated Spirit Awards and originally known as the FINDIE or Friends of Independents Awards), founded in 1984, are awards dedicated to independent filmmakers. Winners were typically presented with acrylic glas ...

. Gast co-directed the 1977 documentary, ''

The Grateful Dead Movie ''The Grateful Dead Movie'', released in 1977 and directed by Jerry Garcia, is a film that captures live performances from rock band the Grateful Dead during an October 1974 five-night run at Winterland Ballroom, Winterland in San Francisco, Cali ...

'' with guitarist

Jerry Garcia Jerome John Garcia (August 1, 1942 – August 9, 1995) was an American musician best known for being the principal songwriter, lead guitarist, and a vocalist with the rock band Grateful Dead, which he co-founded and which came to prominence ...

. The film captured the band's October 1974, five-night performance at the

Winterland Ballroom Winterland Ballroom (more commonly known as Winterland Arena or simply Winterland) was an ice skating rink and music venue in San Francisco, California. The arena was located at the corner of Post Street and Steiner Street. It was converted for ...

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

. Gast also co-directed the 1983 film ''Hell's Angels Forever,'' which focused on the notorious motorcycle club

Hells Angels The Hells Angels Motorcycle Club (HAMC) is a worldwide outlaw motorcycle club whose members typically ride Harley-Davidson motorcycles. In the United States and Canada, the Hells Angels are incorporated as the Hells Angels Motorcycle Corporatio ...

. The Angels are believed to have learned that Gast put material in the documentary which they didn't prefer. To this end, Gast claimed that the Angels tracked him down and beat him up. Gast also produced works on B.B. King and Celia Cruz.

Early life

A native of

Jersey City, New Jersey Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark.Henry Snyder High School Academy of the Arts at Henry Snyder High School is a four-year performing arts public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades, located in the Greenville section of Jersey City, New Jersey, United States, operating as part o ...

and studied dramatic arts at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

, and in that same period worked on the television series ''High Adventure'' with writer and broadcaster

Lowell Thomas Lowell Jackson Thomas (April 6, 1892 – August 29, 1981) was an American writer, actor, broadcaster, and traveler, best remembered for publicising T. E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia). He was also involved in promoting the Cinerama widescreen ...

. Gast is also known for his still photography which has appeared in such magazines as ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...

'', ''

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentlema ...

'', and ''

Harper's Bazaar ''Harper's Bazaar'' is an American monthly women's fashion magazine. It was first published in New York City on November 2, 1867, as the weekly ''Harper's Bazar''. ''Harper's Bazaar'' is published by Hearst and considers itself to be the st ...

''. Gast would make album covers for Fania All-Stars which would lead him to make ''

Our Latin Thing ''Our Latin Thing'' ( es, Nuestra Cosa Latina) was a 1972 documentary film directed by Leon Gast about the burgeoning Latin music scene in New York City. It focused on a concert put together by the management of Fania Records at Manhattan's Cheeta ...

''.

Kinshasa & ''When We Were Kings''

Leon Gast is best known for his documentary ''

'', for which he won the

. The film details the boxing match known as "

" between

and

. Ali defeated Foreman in the fight, for which the two split a $10 million purse. Gast was not originally supposed to film this documentary. Gast went to Kinshasa and was still a photographer who had one documentary which was on Latin music. Gast was hired to create a documentary about a three-day music festival that was happening in Kinshasa when the fight was occurring. Zaire's ruler declared the concert free-of-charge days before it was supposed to happen. This was problematic because funds for the documentary were supposed to come directly from the proceeds of the festival. Five days before the scheduled fight, Foreman acquired a bad cut above one of his eyes and the fight was pushed back six weeks. Gast turned his attention to the fight and centered the documentary on Ali. When Gast returned from Kinshasa, he had 300,000 feet of 16mm film (138 hours). Initially Gast didn't have the money to finish the documentary, so he paid the bills by making documentaries on the Grateful Dead and the Hell's Angels. In 1989, Gast's former lawyer, David Sonenberg, helped Gast out by putting up almost $1 million to finish the project. The film was first featured at the 1996

Sundance Film festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...

. Gast won an award for the documentary and was eventually premiered at

Radio City Music Hall Radio City Music Hall is an entertainment venue and Theater (structure), theater at 1260 Sixth Avenue (Manhattan), Avenue of the Americas, within Rockefeller Center, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Nicknamed "The Showplac ...

. Gast spent close to two decades on ''

''. This documentary was focused towards the comeback of Ali who was forced into exile after he objected to the draft during the Vietnam Draft. ''

'' has received strongly positive critical reaction. The documentary highlighted an important time in sports. Susan Ryan, who is a Cineaste reviewer, said “this entertaining documentary shows the boxer at one of the most celebrated moments in his career, dancing around the press, and preaching black pride with the same skill that he once used dancing around the ring”.

Golden Door International Film Festival

Leon Gast has also been awarded the lifetime achievement award at the Golden Door International Film Festival in 2012. Gast is one of a small group of New Jersey natives to have won an

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology), ...

. Frank Sinatra (Hoboken) won for From Here To Eternity, Bruce Springsteen (Freehold) won for Philadelphia. Jed Dimatteo presented the award to Gast. Dimatteo also is a Jersey City social historian and publisher of the Jersey Journal newsletter. Dimatteo was involved in planning the festival and brought up Gast's name after he rediscovered Gast's work.

Other works

Gast's 2010 project is a documentary entitled ''

Smash His Camera ''Smash His Camera'' is a 2010 documentary film directed by filmmaker Leon Gast about the life and career of paparazzi photographer Ron Galella. The film won the "Directing Award Documentary" at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival and was released on 3 ...

'', a film about

paparazzi Paparazzi (, ; ; singular: masculine paparazzo or feminine paparazza) are independent photographers who take pictures of high-profile people; such as actors, musicians, athletes, politicians, and other celebrities, typically while subjects ...

photographer

Ron Galella Ronald Edward Galella (January 10, 1931 – April 30, 2022) was an American photographer, known as a pioneer paparazzo. Dubbed "Paparazzo Extraordinaire" by ''Newsweek'' and "the Godfather of the U.S. paparazzi culture" by ''Time'' magazine and ...

. The film won the award for best director of a documentary at the 2010

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...

. Galella got his start in street journalism. Galella “is best known for his obsessive ten-year pursuit of

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Jacqueline Lee Kennedy Onassis ( ; July 28, 1929 – May 19, 1994) was an American socialite, writer, photographer, and book editor who served as first lady of the United States from 1961 to 1963, as the wife of President John F. Kennedy. A pop ...

, which resulted in a lengthy court case weighing the rights of the press vs. the individual's fight to privacy.” Gast directed his second documentary on a boxing legend, ''Manny'', with Ryan Moore. It focuses on the boxing career of

Manny Pacquiao Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao Sr. (; born December17, 1978) is a Filipino politician and former professional boxer. Nicknamed "PacMan", he is regarded as one of the greatest professional boxers of all time. He served as a Senator of the Philip ...

, detailing his rise from poverty to the very top of the boxing world.

now is a congressman in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

Personal life and death

Gast married Geri Spolan in 1991. He had two children from a previous marriage. Gast died from complications of

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...

at his home in

Woodstock, New York Woodstock is a town in Ulster County, New York, United States, in the northern part of the county, northwest of Kingston, NY. It lies within the borders of the Catskill Park. The population was 5,884 at the 2010 census, down from 6,241 in 2000 ...

, on March 8, 2021.

Filmography

* '' Our Latin Thing (Nuestra Cosa)'' (1972) * ''Celia Cruz and the Fania Allstars in Africa'' (1974) * ''

'' (1974); as a co-director for

* ''B.B. King - Sweet 16'' (1974) * ''Hells Angels Forever'' (1983) * ''

'' (1996) * ''One Love'' (2003) * ''

Soul Power "Soul Power" is a song by James Brown. Brown recorded it with the original J.B.'s (plus Fred Wesley) and it was released as a three-part single in 1971. Like "Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine" and other hits from this period it features b ...

'' (2008) * ''

'' (2010) * ''

The Trials of Muhammad Ali ''The Trials of Muhammad Ali'' is a 2013 American documentary about the heyday of boxer Muhammad Ali's career, with special focus on his conversion to Islam and his refusal to fight in the Vietnam War. It won an award for Best Use of News Foo ...

'' (2013) (executive producer) * ''Manny'' (2014)

Awards

* Special Jury Recognition,

(1996 – When We Were Kings) * Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature (1997 – When We Were Kings) * Independent Spirit Truer than Fiction Award (1997 – When We Were Kings) * National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Non-Fiction Film (1997 - When We Were Kings) * Sundance Film Festival Directing Award: U.S. Documentary (2010 – Smash His Camera) * News & Documentary Emmy Award for Outstanding Historical Programming (2015 – Independent Lens)

References

Matsumoto, Nancy. “From Off The Canvas.” People 47.11 (1997): 22. Academic Search Premier. Web. October 13, 2015.

External links

*
It Was Our Thing, Our Latin Thing: An Interview with Leon Gast
* http://www.philstar.com/thedeanscorner/articlescontent.aspx?articleId=694735&publicationSubCategoryId=69 {{DEFAULTSORT:Gast, Leon 1936 births 2021 deaths American documentary film directors Artists from Jersey City, New Jersey Columbia University School of the Arts alumni Deaths from Alzheimer's disease Directors of Best Documentary Feature Academy Award winners Film directors from New Jersey Henry Snyder High School alumni Deaths from dementia in New York (state) People from Jersey City, New Jersey