Newt Arnold (February 22, 1922 – February 12, 2000) was an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Arnold directed ''

Bloodsport A blood sport or bloodsport is a category of sport or entertainment that involves bloodshed. Common examples of the former include combat sports such as cockfighting and dog fighting, and some forms of hunting and fishing. Activities characte ...

'', which was released in 1988 and has since become a cult film, as well as several other screen works. Arnold was the two-time recipient of the

Directors Guild of America Award The Directors Guild of America Awards are issued annually by the Directors Guild of America. The first DGA Award was an "Honorary Life Member" award issued in 1938 to D. W. Griffith. The statues are made by New York firm, Society Awards. Catego ...

for his work as an assistant director of ''

The Godfather Part II ''The Godfather Part II'' is a 1974 American epic crime film produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The film is partially based on the 1969 novel ''The Godfather'' by Mario Puzo, who co-wrote the screenplay with Coppola. ''Part II'' s ...

'' and ''

12 Angry Men ''Twelve Angry Men'' is an American courtroom drama written by Reginald Rose concerning the jury of a homicide trial. It was broadcast initially as a television play in 1954. The following year it was adapted for the stage. It was adapted for a ...

''.

Early life

Born in

Palo Alto, California Palo Alto (; Spanish for "tall stick") is a charter city in the northwestern corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto. The city was es ...

, Arnold earned a bachelor's degree at Stanford University and postgraduate scholarships in the Banff School of Fine Arts and the University of London. He received a master's degree from

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California S ...

Film

In film, Arnold was initially an assistant director particularly in ''

The Ballad of Josie ''The Ballad of Josie'' is a 1967 Technicolor American comedy Western film directed by Andrew V. McLaglen and starring Doris Day, Peter Graves, and George Kennedy. It humorously tackles 1960s themes of feminism in a traditional Western setting ...

'', ''

The Way West ''The Way West'' is a 1949 western novel by A. B. Guthrie, Jr. The book won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1950 and became the basis for a film starring Kirk Douglas, Robert Mitchum, and Richard Widmark. The novel is one in the sequence o ...

'', '' The Devil's Brigade'' and ''

The Green Berets The United States Army Special Forces (SF), colloquially known as the "Green Berets" due to their distinctive service headgear, are a special operations force of the United States Army. The Green Berets are geared towards nine doctrinal mis ...

''. Arnold's screen career spanned forty-five years and also included work on television films, miniseries and commercials. For his work as

first assistant director The role of an assistant director on a film includes tracking daily progress against the filming production schedule, arranging logistics, preparing daily call sheets, checking cast and crew, and maintaining order on the set. They also have to t ...

of ''

'' he received the

. Arnold received a second Directors Guild of America Award for his work in ''

'', a remake of the 1957 film with the same title. His directing work on ''Masada'' and the miniseries ''Peter the Great'' was also praised by critics. Arnold also directed the films ''

Hands of a Stranger ''Hands of a Stranger'' is a 1962 American horror film directed by Newt Arnold and is unofficially the fourth film adaptation of '' The Hands of Orlac''. Plot When the hands of pianist Vernon Paris are destroyed in a taxicab accident, he recei ...

'' (1962) and '' Blood Thirst'' (1971) and directed some additional scenes for the film ''

Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold ''Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold'' is a 1986 American adventure comedy film directed by Gary Nelson and released in West Germany on December 18, 1986, and in the United States on January 30, 1987. It is loosely based on the 1887 novel ...

'' (1986).

Death

Arnold died of

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ...

on February 12, 2000 in his home in

Encino, California Encino (Spanish for "oak") is a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. History In 1769, the Spanish Portolá expedition, first Europeans to see inland areas of California, traveled north through Sepulveda ...

. He was survived by his wife and two sons, Jonathan and Evan.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arnold, Newt Film directors from California 1922 births 2000 deaths People from Palo Alto, California Directors Guild of America Award winners Deaths from leukemia Deaths from cancer in California Stanford University alumni American expatriates in England