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

'' (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 ''The Car'' is a 1977 American horror film directed by Elliot Silverstein and written by Michael Butler, Dennis Shryack and Lane Slate. The film stars James Brolin, Kathleen Lloyd, John Marley and Ronny Cox, along with real-life sisters Kim and ...

'' (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, su ...

'' (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 various accolades including two Academy Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, sev ...

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. Alth ...

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

'', ''

'', 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 initially ran from September 18, 1992, to June 26, 1996, on the CBS televisio ...

'', 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 Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology), ...

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 and television directors in the United States motion picture industry and abroad. Founded as the Screen Directors Guild in 1936, the group merge ...

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 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. Categ ...

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 sculpt ...

award at the

Western Heritage ''Western Heritage'' is a 1948 American Western film directed by Wallace Grissell. The film is a Tim Holt B Western about land robbers and forgers in the southwest. Although based on an original screenplay the film features Chito Rafferty from ...

Awards in the category of Theatrical Motion Picture for ''A Man Called Horse'', along with producer

Sandy Howard Sandy Howard (August 1, 1927 – May 16, 2008) was an American film producer and television producer. Biography A native of the Bronx, New York City, Howard wrote short stories for publication in magazines like ''Liberty'', and worked as a public ...

, 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 Jean Gascon (December 21, 1920 – April 13, 1988) was a Canadian opera director, actor, and administrator. Career Originally bent on a career in medicine, Gascon abandoned it for the stage after considerable work with amateur groups in Mont ...

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 Hellas ...

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 Evelyn Mae Ward (May 21, 1923 – December 23, 2012) was an American actress known from her stage musical performances and television appearances. Her son was the actor-singer David Cassidy. Background Ward was born and raised in West Orange, ...

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) *''

'' (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) *''

'' (1977) *''

'' (1974) *'' A Man Called Horse'' (1970) *'' The Happening'' (1967) *''

'' (1965) *''

Kraft Suspense Theatre The ''Kraft Suspense Theatre'' is an American television anthology series that was produced and broadcast from 1963 to 1965 on NBC. Sponsored by Kraft Foods, it was seen three weeks out of every four and was pre-empted for Perry Como's ''Kraft Mu ...

'' (TV Series) (1963–64) *'' The Defenders'' (TV Series) (1962–64) *''

Arrest and Trial ''Arrest and Trial'' is a 90-minute American Crime film, crime/legal drama series that ran during the 1963-64 United States network television schedule, 1963-1964 season on American Broadcasting Company, ABC, airing Sundays from 8:30-10 pm North ...

'' (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 Dr. James Kildare is a fictional American medical doctor, originally created in the 1930s by the author Frederick Schiller Faust under the pen name Max Brand. Shortly after the character's first appearance in a magazine story, Paramount Pictur ...

'' (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) was 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 h ...

'' (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 episodes on NBC from January 10, 1959, to May 6, 1960. The half-hour program was produced by Dick Powell's Four Star Television, and the original backdoo ...

'' (TV Series) (1960) *''

Suspicion Suspicion is a feeling of mistrust. Suspicion(s), The Suspicion, or Suspicious may also refer to: Film and television Film * ''Suspicion'' (1918 film), an American silent film directed by John M. Stahl * ''Suspicion'' (1941 film), an American ...

'' (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