Richard Rush (April 15, 1929 – April 8, 2021) was an American
film director
A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...
, scriptwriter, and producer. He is known for directing ''
The Stunt Man
''The Stunt Man'' is a 1980 American action comedy film directed by Richard Rush, starring Peter O'Toole, Steve Railsback, and Barbara Hershey. The film was adapted by Lawrence B. Marcus and Rush from the 1970 novel of the same name by Paul Brod ...
'', for which he received a nomination for the
Academy Award for Best Director
The Academy Award for Best Director (officially known as the Academy Award of Merit for Directing) is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given in honor of a film director who has exhibi ...
. His film ''
Color of Night
''Color of Night'' is a 1994 American erotic mystery thriller film produced by Cinergi Pictures and released in the United States by Buena Vista Pictures (through its Hollywood Pictures label). Directed by Richard Rush, the film stars Bruce Wil ...
'' won a
Golden Raspberry Award
The Golden Raspberry Awards (also known as the Razzies and Razzie Awards) is a parody award show honoring the worst of cinematic under-achievements. Co-founded by UCLA film graduates and film industry veterans John J. B. Wilson and Mo Murphy, ...
as the worst film of 1994, but
''Maxim'' magazine also singled the film out as having the best sex scene in film history. Rush, whose directing career began in 1960, also directed ''
Freebie and the Bean
''Freebie and the Bean'' is a 1974 American buddy cop black comedy action film directed by Richard Rush and starring James Caan, Alan Arkin, Loretta Swit and Valerie Harper. The film follows two off-beat police detectives who wreak havoc in San ...
'', a police buddy comedy/drama starring
Alan Arkin
Alan Wolf Arkin (born March 26, 1934) is an American actor, director and screenwriter known for his performances on stage and screen. Throughout his career spanning over six decades, he has received various accolades, including an Academy Award ...
and
James Caan
James Edmund Caan ( ; March 26, 1940 – July 6, 2022) was an American actor. He came to prominence playing Sonny Corleone in ''The Godfather'' (1972) – a performance which earned him Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, Academy Award an ...
. He co-wrote the screenplay for the 1990 film ''
Air America''.
Biography
Early life
Rush spent his childhood fascinated by
Marcel Proust
Valentin Louis Georges Eugène Marcel Proust (; ; 10 July 1871 – 18 November 1922) was a French novelist, critic, and essayist who wrote the monumental novel ''In Search of Lost Time'' (''À la recherche du temps perdu''; with the previous Eng ...
and ''
Batman
Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...
'' comics. He was one of the first students of
UCLA
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 St ...
's film program, and, after graduation, Rush worked to create television programs for the
United States military
The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the ...
showcasing the nation's involvement in the
Korean War
, date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
. While he agreed with the military's involvement in the region, Rush's participation in this largely symbolic conflict can be seen as a defining event for the director who later explained:
After his propaganda work, Rush opened a production company to produce commercials and industrial films.
Early Features
At the age of thirty, inspired by the neo-realism of French director
François Truffaut
François Roland Truffaut ( , ; ; 6 February 1932 – 21 October 1984) was a French film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film critic. He is widely regarded as one of the founders of the French New Wave. After a career of more tha ...
's ''
The 400 Blows
''The 400 Blows'' (french: Les Quatre Cents Coups) is a 1959 French coming-of-age drama film, and the directorial debut of François Truffaut. The film, shot in DyaliScope, stars Jean-Pierre Léaud, Albert Rémy, and Claire Maurier. One of ...
'', Rush sold his production business to finance his first feature ''
Too Soon to Love
''Too Soon to Love'', also known as ''High School Honeymoon'' and ''Teenage Lovers'', is a 1960 American exploitation film directed by Richard Rush and starring Richard Evans, Jennifer West and Jack Nicholson.
The film was considered by some crit ...
'' (1960), which he produced on a shoestring budget of $50,000 and sold to
Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...
for distribution for $250,000. It featured an early film appearance by
Jack Nicholson
John Joseph Nicholson (born April 22, 1937) is an American retired actor and filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors of all time. In many of his films, he played rebels against the social structure. He received numerous ...
(who starred in two later Rush films, ''
Hells Angels on Wheels
''Hells Angels on Wheels'' is a 1967 American biker film directed by Richard Rush, and starring Adam Roarke, Jack Nicholson, and Sabrina Scharf. The film tells the story of a gas-station attendant with a bad attitude who finds life more exciting ...
'' and ''
Psych-Out
''Psych-Out'' is a 1968 American psychedelic film about hippies, psychedelic music and recreational drugs starring Susan Strasberg, Jack Nicholson (the film's leading man despite being billed under supporting player Dean Stockwell) and Br ...
'').
Rush wanted to follow it with an adaptation of ''
Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?'' but did not end up making the film. He was also attached to ''
Kitten with a Whip'' early on.
Rush then directed ''
Of Love and Desire
''Of Love and Desire'' is a 1963 film directed by Richard Rush and starring Merle Oberon, Steve Cochran and Curd Jürgens
Curd Gustav Andreas Gottlieb Franz Jürgens (13 December 191518 June 1982) was a German-Austrian stage and film actor. He ...
'' (1963) with
Merle Oberon
Merle Oberon (born Estelle Merle O'Brien Thompson; 19 February 191123 November 1979) was a British actress who began her film career in British films as Anne Boleyn in ''The Private Life of Henry VIII'' (1933). After her success in ''The Scarle ...
.
Exploitation Films
Rush's third movie was a spy picture, ''
A Man Called Dagger
''A Man Called Dagger'' (1968) is a low-budget spy film that was the first collaboration between director Richard Rush, cinematographer László Kovács, and stuntman Gary Warner Kent (who also did the film's special effects).
It was filmed in ...
'' (1966) which was his first collaboration with cinematographer
László Kovács.
Rush directed a car racing film for
American International Pictures
American International Pictures (AIP) is an American motion picture production label of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. In its original operating period, AIP was an independent film production and distribution company known for producing and releasing fi ...
, ''
Thunder Alley'' (1967) starring
Fabian Forte
Fabian Forte (born Fabiano Anthony Forte, February 6, 1943), professionally known as Fabian, is an American singer and actor.
Forte rose to national prominence after performing several times on '' American Bandstand''. He became a teen idol o ...
and
Annette Funicello
Annette Joanne Funicello (October 22, 1942 – April 8, 2013) was an American actress and singer. Funicello began her professional career as a child performer at the age of twelve. She was one of the most popular Mouseketeers on the orig ...
.
He did ''
The Fickle Finger of Fate'' (1967) for
Sidney W. Pink
Sidney W. Pink was an American film producer and occasional director. He has been called the father of feature-length 3-D movies. He is also noted for producing early Spaghetti Westerns and low-budget science-fiction films, and for his role in act ...
starring
Tab Hunter
Tab Hunter (born Arthur Andrew Kelm; July 11, 1931 – July 8, 2018) was an American actor, singer, film producer, and author. Known for his blond, clean-cut good looks, Hunter starred in more than forty films. He was a Hollywood heartthrob of t ...
, then did a biker movie for
Joe Solomon
Joseph Stanislaus Solomon (born 26 August 1930) is a former international cricketer who played 27 Test matches for the West Indies from 1958 to 1965, scoring 1,326 runs, mainly from number six and seven in the batting line-up. He was born in ...
, ''
Hells Angels on Wheels
''Hells Angels on Wheels'' is a 1967 American biker film directed by Richard Rush, and starring Adam Roarke, Jack Nicholson, and Sabrina Scharf. The film tells the story of a gas-station attendant with a bad attitude who finds life more exciting ...
'' (1967), starring Nicholson.
Rush was signed by
Dick Clark
Richard Wagstaff Clark (November 30, 1929April 18, 2012) was an American radio and television personality, television producer and film actor, as well as a cultural icon who remains best known for hosting ''American Bandstand'' from 1956 to 198 ...
to make two more films for AIP: ''
Psych-Out
''Psych-Out'' is a 1968 American psychedelic film about hippies, psychedelic music and recreational drugs starring Susan Strasberg, Jack Nicholson (the film's leading man despite being billed under supporting player Dean Stockwell) and Br ...
'' (1968), a film about the counter culture starring Nicholson and
Susan Strasberg, and a biker movie ''
The Savage Seven
''The Savage Seven'' is a 1968 outlaw biker exploitation film directed by Richard Rush, who had directed the previous year's ''Hells Angels on Wheels''. Rush agreed to direct ''The Savage Seven'' in exchange for the opportunity to make the psych ...
'' (1968).
Studio Films
Rush signed a deal with Columbia. His first studio effort was 1970's ''
Getting Straight
''Getting Straight'' is a 1970 American comedy film motion picture directed by Richard Rush, released by Columbia Pictures.
The story centered upon student politics at a university in the early 1970s, seen through the eyes of non-conformist grad ...
'', starring
Elliott Gould and
Candice Bergen
Candice Patricia Bergen (born May 9, 1946) is an American actress. She won five Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards for her portrayal of the title character on the CBS sitcom ''Murphy Brown'' (1988–1998, 2018). She is also kno ...
. The film did well commercially and was deemed by Swedish director
Ingmar Bergman
Ernst Ingmar Bergman (14 July 1918 – 30 July 2007) was a Swedish film director, screenwriter, Film producer, producer and playwright. Widely considered one of the greatest and most influential filmmakers of all time, his films are known ...
to be the "best American film of the decade."
Rush's next movie, in 1974, was ''
Freebie and the Bean
''Freebie and the Bean'' is a 1974 American buddy cop black comedy action film directed by Richard Rush and starring James Caan, Alan Arkin, Loretta Swit and Valerie Harper. The film follows two off-beat police detectives who wreak havoc in San ...
''. For the most part, ''Freebie'' was critically panned; however, it was enormously popular with audiences, grossing over $30 million at the box office.
''The Stunt Man''
In 1981, Truffaut was asked "Who is your favorite American director?" He answered, "I don’t know his name, but I saw his film last night and it was called ''The Stunt Man''." The film, which took Rush nine years to put together, was a slapstick comedy, a thriller, a romance, an action-adventure, and a commentary on America's dismissal of veterans, as well as a deconstruction of
Hollywood cinema
The cinema of the United States, consisting mainly of major film studios (also known as Hollywood) along with some independent film, has had a large effect on the global film industry since the early 20th century. The dominant style of Am ...
. The film also features Rush's typical protagonist, an emotionally traumatized male who has escaped the traditional frameworks of society only to find his new world (biker gangs in ''Hells Angels on Wheels'', hippies in ''Psych-Out'') corrupted by the same influences. ''The Stunt Man'' won Rush
Oscar nominations
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 ...
for
best director Best Director is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards. It may refer to:
Film awards
* AACTA Award for Best Direction
* Academy Award for Best Director
* BA ...
and best script (co-nominated with
Lawrence B. Marcus
Lawrence B. Marcus (July 19, 1917 – August 28, 2001) was an American screenwriter. He was nominated for an Academy Award in the category Best Adapted Screenplay for the film ''The Stunt Man''. Marcus died in August 2001 of Parkinson's disease ...
).
Later career
When ''
Air America'' showed signs of trouble during development, Rush was paid full salary to walk away from the project. This allowed the studio to cast
Mel Gibson
Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson (born January 3, 1956) is an American actor, film director, and producer. He is best known for his action hero roles, particularly his breakout role as Max Rockatansky in the first three films of the post-apocaly ...
and
Robert Downey, Jr.
Robert John Downey Jr. (born April 4, 1965) is an American actor and producer. His career has been characterized by critical and popular success in his youth, followed by a period of substance abuse and legal troubles, before a resurgence of ...
Rush did not direct another film for four years, until the 1994's box office failure ''
Color of Night
''Color of Night'' is a 1994 American erotic mystery thriller film produced by Cinergi Pictures and released in the United States by Buena Vista Pictures (through its Hollywood Pictures label). Directed by Richard Rush, the film stars Bruce Wil ...
''. However, ''Color of Night'' also won "Best Sex Scene in film history" award from
''Maxim'' magazine; Rush was very proud of the award, and he kept the award in his bathroom.
Afterward, Rush retreated from the world of commercial cinema. As
Kenneth Turan
Kenneth Turan (; born October 27, 1946) is an American retired film critic, author, and lecturer in the Master of Professional Writing Program at the University of Southern California. He was a film critic for the ''Los Angeles Times'' from 1991 ...
of ''The
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'' wrote, Rush's career seems to be "followed by the kind of miserable luck that never seems to afflict the untalented."
His last project was a
DVD documentary
A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in term ...
on the making of ''The Stunt Man'' entitled
''The Sinister Saga of Making'' The Stunt Man (2001).
He resided in
Bel Air with his wife Claudia. He had an older brother, Dr. Stephen Rush who also resided in Los Angeles.
On April 8, 2021, Rush died a week shy of his 92nd birthday at his Los Angeles home after long-term health problems.
Filmography (as director and writer)
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rush, Richard
1929 births
2021 deaths
Film directors from New York City
University of California, Los Angeles alumni
People from Bel Air, Los Angeles
People from Big Bear Lake, California