Elliot Silverstein (August 3, 1927 – November 24, 2023) was an American film and television director. He directed the

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

-winning western comedy ''

Cat Ballou ''Cat Ballou'' is a 1965 American western comedy film starring Jane Fonda and Lee Marvin, who won an Academy Award for his dual role. The story involves a woman who hires a notorious gunman to protect her father's ranch, and later to avenge his ...

'' (1965), and other films including '' The Happening'' (1967), '' A Man Called Horse'' (1970), '' Nightmare Honeymoon'' (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 series, anthology television series created by Rod Serling in which characters find themselves dealing with often disturbing or unusual events, an experience described ...

'' (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 and activist. Recognized as a film icon, Jane Fonda filmography, Fonda's work spans several genres and over six decades of film and television. She is the recipient of List of a ...

and

Lee Marvin Lee Marvin (February 19, 1924August 29, 1987) was an American film and television actor. Known for his bass voice and prematurely white hair, he is best remembered for playing hardboiled "tough guy" characters. Although initially typecast as th ...

. The other Silverstein films, in chronological order, are '' The Happening'', '' A Man Called Horse'', '' Nightmare Honeymoon'', '' The Car'', and '' Flashfire''. Other work included directing for the television shows ''

'', '' The Nurses'', ''

Picket Fences ''Picket Fences'' is an American family drama television series about the residents of the town of Rome, Wisconsin, created and produced by David E. Kelley. The show ran from September 18, 1992, to June 26, 1996, on CBS in the United States. ...

'', and '' Tales from the Crypt''. While Silverstein was not a prolific director, his films were often decorated. ''Cat Ballou'', for instance, earned one

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People and fictional and mythical characters * Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar * Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer ...

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 Dir ...

Personal life and death

Silverstein was born in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

on August 3, 1927, and was raised in Dorchester. He had 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 stepfather of

David Cassidy David Bruce Cassidy (April 12, 1950 – November 21, 2017) was an American actor and musician. He was best known for his role as Keith Partridge in the 1970s musical-sitcom ''The Partridge Family''. After completing high school, Cassidy purs ...

. Silverstein lived in

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

. Actively retired, Silverstein had taught film at USC and continued to work on screenplays and other projects. He died in Los Angeles on November 24, 2023, at the age of 96.

Awards

In 1965, at the 15th Berlin International Film Festival, 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. 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 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 Dame Frances Margaret Anderson (10 February 18973 January 1992), known professionally as Judith Anderson, was an Australian actress who had a successful career in stage, film, and television. A pre-eminent stage actress in her era, she won two ...

, Jean Gascon, Corinna Tsopei and

Richard Harris Richard St John Francis Harris (1 October 1930 – 25 October 2002) was an Irish actor and singer. Having studied at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, he rose to prominence as an icon of the British New Wave. He received numerous a ...

."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.

Filmography

*'' Flashfire'' (1994) *'' Tales from the Crypt'' (TV series) (1991–94) *''

'' (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'' (TV series) (1982–1983) *'' The Car'' (1977) *'' Nightmare Honeymoon'' (1974) *'' A Man Called Horse'' (1970) *'' The Happening'' (1967) *''

'' (1965) *'' Kraft Suspense Theatre'' (TV series) (1963–64) *'' The Defenders'' (TV series) (1962–64) *''

Arrest and Trial ''Arrest and Trial'' is a 90-minute American crime/legal drama series that ran during the 1963–1964 season on ABC, airing Sundays from 8:30-10 pm Eastern. Overview The majority of episodes consists of two segments. Set in Los Angeles, the ...

'' (TV series) (1964) *'' The Doctors and the Nurses'' (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 U.S. Route 66 or U.S. Highway 66 (US 66 or Route 66) is one of the original highways in the United States Numbered Highway System. It was established on November 11, 1926, with road signs erected the following year. The high ...

'' (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 ''Black Saddle'' is an American Western television series starring Peter Breck that aired 44 half-hour black-and-white episodes from January 10, 1959, to May 6, 1960. The first season of 20 episodes aired on NBC from January 1959 to September ...

'' (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 2023 deaths 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