Gerald Mast (May 13, 1940 – September 1, 1988) was an author, film historian, and member of the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

faculty. He was a contributor to the modern discipline of

film studies Film studies is an academic discipline that deals with various film theory, theoretical, history of film, historical, and film criticism, critical approaches to film, cinema as an art form and a medium. It is sometimes subsumed within media stud ...

and film history.

Life and career

Mast was born in Los Angeles in 1940; his family included his mother, Bessie, and Linda, his sister. He attended the

, where he received his bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in English. He taught at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1833, it is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational lib ...

, and the Richmond College of the

City University of New York The City University of New York (CUNY, pronounced , ) is the Public university, public university system of Education in New York City, New York City. It is the largest urban university system in the United States, comprising 25 campuses: eleven ...

, before joining the faculty of his alma mater in 1978. He chaired the Department of English Language and Literature, and his donation of 300

film print A release print is a copy of a film that is provided to a movie theater for exhibition. Definitions Release prints are not to be confused with other types of prints used in the photochemical post-production process: * Rush prints, or dailies, ...

s established the university's Film Studies Center and Film Archive. The

university press A university press is an academic publishing house specializing in monographs and scholarly journals. They are often an integral component of a large research university. They publish work that has been reviewed by scholars in the field. They pro ...

published several of his books on the history and critical analysis of film. His works were influential in the development of the academic study of film history, including the application of the Chicago School of literary criticism to film analysis, and several of his books, including ''A Short History of the Movies'' and ''Film Theory and Criticism'', have been widely incorporated into university

programs.

Criticism

Mast faced some criticism for his opposition to Hollywood auteurism by some of his peers.

Death and legacy

On September 1, 1988, Mast, age 48, died at Bernard Mitchell Hospital from complications of

AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

. At a time when public figures in the arts often remained unwilling to be associated with the disease, Mast requested that his obituaries include his cause of death. In a retrospective in ''

Cinema Journal The ''Journal of Cinema and Media Studies'' (formerly ''Cinema Journal'' and ''The Journal of the Society of Cinematologists'') is the official academic journal of the Society for Cinema and Media Studies (formerly the Society for Cinema Studies ...

'', Tag Gallagher compared him to French film critic

Jean Mitry Jean-René Pierre Goetgheluck Le Rouge Tillard des Acres de Presfontaines, whose pseudonym was Jean Mitry (; 7 November 1904 – 18 January 1988), was a French Film theory, film theorist, Film criticism, critic and Filmmaking, filmmaker, a co-fo ...

, and described him as America's "film-scholar laureate". Mast's partner, actor Peter Burnell, best known for his role as Dr. Mike Powers on the NBC daytime soap opera '' The Doctors'', preceded him in death. Burnell was diagnosed with AIDS, and died by suicide by hanging on Jan. 5th, 1987 in Chicago, Illinois at the age of 44.

Selected works

*''A Short History of the Movies'' (1971) *''The Comic Mind: Comedy and the Movies'' (1973) *''Film Theory and Criticism: Introductory Readings'' (1974) *''Film/Cinema/Movie: A Theory of Experience'' (1977) *''The Movies in Our Midst: Documents in the Cultural History of Film in America'' (1982) *''Howard Hawks, Storyteller'' (1982) *''Can't Help Singin': The American Musical on Stage and Screen'' (1987) *''Bringing Up Baby: Howard Hawks Director" ed. (1989)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mast, Gerald 1940 births 1988 deaths 20th-century American historians American film historians American male non-fiction writers Film theorists University of Chicago alumni University of Chicago faculty AIDS-related deaths in Illinois New York University faculty Oberlin College faculty College of Staten Island faculty