Elliot Silverstein (born August 3, 1927) is an American film and television director. He directed the

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 ...

-winning western comedy '' Cat Ballou'' (1965), and other films including '' The Happening'' (1967), '' A Man Called Horse'' (1970), ''

Nightmare Honeymoon ''Nightmare Honeymoon'' is a 1974 American crime-thriller film directed by Elliot Silverstein, starring Dack Rambo and Rebecca Dianna Smith. Plot Newlyweds David and Jill Webb (Dack Rambo and Rebecca Dianna Smith) want nothing more than to co ...

'' (1974), and '' The Car'' (1977). His television work includes four episodes of ''

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 ...

'' (1961–1964).

Career

Elliot Silverstein was the director of six feature films in the mid-twentieth century. The most famous of these by far is ''Cat Ballou'', a comedy-western starring

Jane Fonda Jane Seymour Fonda (born December 21, 1937) is an American actress, activist, and former fashion model. Recognized as a film icon, Fonda is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Jane Fonda, various accolades including two ...

and

Lee Marvin Lee Marvin (born Lamont Waltman Marvin Jr.; February 19, 1924August 29, 1987) was an American film and television actor. Known for his bass voice and premature white hair, he is best remembered for playing hardboiled "tough guy" characters. Alt ...

. The other Silverstein films, in chronological order, are '' The Happening'', '' A Man Called Horse'', ''

'', '' The Car'', and '' Flashfire''. Other work included directing for the television shows ''

'', '' The Nurses'', '' Picket Fences'', and ''

Tales from the Crypt Tales from the Crypt may refer to: * ''Tales from the Crypt'' (album), by American rapper C-Bo * ''Tales from the Crypt'' (comics), published by EC Comics during the 1950s ** ''Tales from the Crypt'' (film), a 1972 Amicus film starring Ralph Ric ...

''. While Silverstein was not a prolific director, his films were often decorated. ''Cat Ballou'', for instance, earned one Oscar and was nominated for four more. His high quality work was rewarded in 1990 with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the

Directors Guild of America The Directors Guild of America (DGA) is an entertainment guild that represents the interests of film director, film and television director, television directors in the United States motion picture industry and abroad. Founded as the Screen Dire ...

Awards

In 1965, at the

15th Berlin International Film Festival The 15th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 25 June to 6 July 1965. The festival started selecting the jury members on its own rather than countries sending designated representatives. The Golden Bear was awarded to the Fren ...

, he won the Youth Film Award – Honorable Mention, in the category of Best Feature Film Suitable for Young People for ''Cat Ballou''. He was also nominated for the

Golden Berlin Bear The Golden Bear (german: Goldener Bär) is the highest prize awarded for the best film at the Berlin International Film Festival. The bear is the heraldic animal of Berlin, featured on both the coat of arms and flag of Berlin. History The win ...

. In 1966, he was nominated for the DGA Award in the category for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures (''Cat Ballou''). In 1971, he won the

Bronze Wrangler The Bronze Wrangler is an award presented annually by the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum to honor the top works in Western music, film, television and literature. The awards were first presented in 1961. The Wrangler is a bronze sculp ...

award at the Western Heritage Awards in the category of Theatrical Motion Picture for ''A Man Called Horse'', along with producer Sandy Howard, writer Jack DeWitt, and actors Judith Anderson, Jean Gascon,

Corinna Tsopei Kyriaki "Corinna" Tsopei ( el, Κυριακή (Κορίννα) Τσοπέη; born 21 June 1944) is a Greek actress, model and beauty queen who won Miss Universe 1964. Career On 20 June 1964, Tsopei was crowned Miss Star Hellas by Miss Star Hell ...

and

Richard Harris Richard St John Francis Harris (1 October 1930 – 25 October 2002) was an Irish actor and singer. He appeared on stage and in many films, notably as Corrado Zeller in Michelangelo Antonioni's '' Red Desert'', Frank Machin in '' This Sporting ...

."Western Heritage Awards: 1971"
– IMDb (Retrieved on May 17, 2008) In 1985, he won the Robert B. Aldrich Achievement Award from the

. In 1990, he was awarded the DGA Honorary Life Member Award.

Personal life

Silverstein has been married three times, each ending in divorce. His first marriage was to Evelyn Ward in 1962; the couple divorced in 1968. His second marriage was to Alana King. During his first marriage, he was the step-father of

David Cassidy David Bruce Cassidy (April 12, 1950 – November 21, 2017) was an American actor, singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He was best known for his role as Keith Partridge, the son of Shirley Partridge (played by his stepmother, Shirley Jones), in t ...

. He currently lives in

North Hollywood, Los Angeles North Hollywood is a neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, located in the San Fernando Valley. The neighborhood contains the NoHo Arts District, the El Portal Theatre, several art galleries, and the Academy of TV Arts and Sciences. The North ...

. Actively retired, Silverstein has taught film at USC and continues to work on screen plays and other projects.

Filmography

*''

'' (TV Series) (1991–94) *'' Picket Fences'' (TV Series) (1993) *''Rich Men, Single Women'' (TV Movie) (1990) *''Fight for Life'' (TV Movie) (1987) *''Night of Courage'' (TV Movie) (1987) *''Betrayed by Innocence'' (TV Movie) (1986) *''

The Firm The FIRM (stylized as The FIRM) is a brand of exercise videos and equipment currently owned by Gaiam. The original "The FIRM" videos are best known for popularizing a hybrid of aerobic exercise and weight training. History In 1979, Anna Ben ...

'' (TV Series) (1982–1983) *'' The Car'' (1977) *''

'' (1974) *'' A Man Called Horse'' (1970) *'' The Happening'' (1967) *'' Cat Ballou'' (1965) *'' Kraft Suspense Theatre'' (TV Series) (1963–64) *'' The Defenders'' (TV Series) (1962–64) *'' Arrest and Trial'' (TV Series) (1964) *''

The Doctors and the Nurses ''The Nurses'' is a serialized primetime medical drama that was broadcast in the United States on CBS from September 27, 1962, to May 11, 1965. For the third and final season, the title was expanded to ''The Doctors and the Nurses'' and it ran un ...

'' (TV Series) (1962–64) *'' Twilight Zone'' (TV Series) (1961–64) *''Breaking Point'' (TV Series) (1963) *'' Dr. Kildare'' (TV Series) (1961–63) *''The Dick Powell Theatre'' (TV Series) (1962) *''Belle Sommers'' (TV Movie) (1962) *'' Naked City'' (TV Series) (1961–62) *'' Have Gun - Will Travel'' (TV Series) (1961) *'' Route 66'' (TV Series) (1960–61) *''

Checkmate Checkmate (often shortened to mate) is any game position in chess and other chess-like games in which a player's king is in check (threatened with ) and there is no possible escape. Checkmating the opponent wins the game. In chess, the king is ...

'' (TV Series) (1961) *'' The Westerner'' (TV Series) (1960) *'' Assignment: Underwater'' (TV Series) (1960) *'' Black Saddle'' (TV Series) (1960) *'' Suspicion'' (TV Series) (1958) *'' Omnibus'' (TV Series) (1954–56)

References

External links

*
Career interview with Elliot Silverstein
at

{{DEFAULTSORT:Silverstein, Elliot 1927 births Living people American television directors Artists from Boston University of Southern California faculty Boston College alumni People from Studio City, Los Angeles Film directors from Los Angeles