Robert Snyder (January 16, 1916 – March 21, 2004) was a documentary filmmaker who won an

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 ...

in 1950 as producer of '' The Titan: Story of Michelangelo''.

Biography

Robert Snyder was born in Brooklyn, New York, on January 16, 1916. He married Allegra Fuller, the daughter of

Buckminster Fuller Richard Buckminster Fuller (; July 12, 1895 – July 1, 1983) was an American architect, systems theorist, writer, designer, inventor, philosopher, and futurist. He styled his name as R. Buckminster Fuller in his writings, publishing mo ...

, professor emeritus and former chairwoman of the dance department at University of California at Los Angeles. They had a son Jaime and a daughter Alexandra. Snyder won the Academy Award for Best Feature-Length Documentary for '' The Titan: Story of Michelangelo''. It was a German/Swiss film titled ''Michelangelo: Life of a Titan'', first released in 1938 directed by Curt Oertel. Snyder re-edited and shortened the film, adding narration by

Fredric March Fredric March (born Ernest Frederick McIntyre Bickel; August 31, 1897 – April 14, 1975) was an American actor, regarded as one of Hollywood's most celebrated, versatile stars of the 1930s and 1940s.Obituary '' Variety'', April 16, 1975, ...

. Snyder was nominated for a second Academy Award in 1958 for a documentary on insects, '' The Hidden World'', narrated by Gregory Peck. Snyder produced or directed more than a half-dozen biographical documentaries about individuals, including his own father-in-law, futurist

. Other subjects included American patron of the arts, poet, publisher, and peace activist Caresse Crosby, author

Henry Miller Henry Valentine Miller (December 26, 1891 – June 7, 1980) was an American novelist. He broke with existing literary forms and developed a new type of semi-autobiographical novel that blended character study, social criticism, philosophical ref ...

, historians Will and

Ariel Durant Ariel Durant (; May 10, 1898 – October 25, 1981) was a Russian-born American researcher and writer. She was the coauthor of '' The Story of Civilization'' with her husband, Will Durant. They were awarded the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fi ...

Claudio Arrau Claudio Arrau León (; February 6, 1903June 9, 1991) was a Chilean pianist known for his interpretations of a vast repertoire spanning the baroque to 20th-century composers, especially Bach, Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin, Schumann, Liszt and B ...

and cellist Pablo Casals. His 12-part series, ''Looking at Modern Art'', and ''Michelangelo: Self-Portrait'' both appeared on the U.S. Public Broadcasting Service. He died after a lengthy illness in Pacific Palisades, California on March 21, 2004.

Works

As director

* ''Willem de Kooning: Artist'' (short) 1995 * ''Michelangelo: A Self Portrait'' (documentary) 1989 * ''Claudio Arrau: A Life in Music'' (documentary) 1978 * ''Ruth Asawa: Of Forms & Growth'' (documentary short) 1978 * ''Anais Nin Observed'' (documentary) 1974 * ''The World of Buckminster Fuller'' (documentary) 1974 * ''

NBC Experiment in Television ''NBC Experiment in Television'' is an American experimental television show broadcast on NBC from 1967 to 1971. The format of the show was an anthology series and it usually aired on Sunday afternoons. Many of the episodes were either dramatic pi ...

'' (TV series documentary) Episode, ''Buckminster Fuller on Spaceship Earth'' (1971) * ''The Henry Miller Odyssey'' (documentary) 1969 * ''A Glimpse of De Kooning'' (documentary) 1961 * ''A Visit with Pablo Casals'' 1957 * ''Halfway to Hell'' (documentary) 1954

As producer

* ''Willem de Kooning: Artist'' (short) (producer) 1995 * ''The Henry Miller Odyssey'' (documentary) (producer) 1969 * ''Bayanihan'' (documentary) (producer) 1962 * '' The Hidden World'' (documentary) (producer) 1958 * '' The Titan: Story of Michelangelo'' (documentary) (producer) 1950

As actor

* '' Code Name: Heraclitus'' (TV movie) as MacPherson 1967 * ''

The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology television series created by Rod Serling. The episodes are in various genres, including fantasy, science fiction, absurdism, dystopian fiction, suspense, horror, sup ...

'' (TV series) as electrician Episode, "One More Pallbearer" (1962) ... Electrician (uncredited) 1961 * ''Outlaws'' (TV series) as Bundy 1961

Crew

* ''Gods of Bali'' (documentary) (supervisor - 1952 version)

Bibliography

* ''This Is Henry, Henry Miller From Brooklyn'' (non-fiction book) 1974 * ''Anais Nin Observed: Portrait of the Woman as an Artist'' (non-fiction book) 1976 * ''Buckminster Fuller: An Autobiographical Monologue Scenario'' (biography) 1976

Awards

Academy Awards 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 ...

References

Added information

Snyder's website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Snyder, Robert 1916 births 2004 deaths American film directors