Haskell Wexler
Haskell Wexler ( born February 6, 1926 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American cinematographer and director.
Life and work
After attending the University of California, Berkeley, and service in the U.S. Merchant Marine in World War II Wexler turned industrial films and worked as a camera assistant. In 1953 he was involved in the direction of the short documentary The Living City, which was also nominated for an Oscar.
In 1960 he made his debut as a cinematographer with the documentary feature film The Cruel Eye ( The Savage Eye). In 1965 he produced and directed his first film, The Bus. As a director, he turned primarily documentaries, as well as feature films. Its been moved against the background of the riots during the Democratic National Convention media criticism Medium Cool (1969 ) was included in the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress, 2003.
Wexler's intransigence as a cameraman led to repeated confrontations with his directors, including Elia Kazan and Miloš Forman, who flew him from the set of one remove over the Cuckoo's Nest and had to finish the film by Bill Butler.
Wexler is married to actress Rita Taggart. Its derived from previous marriages sons Mark and Jeff Wexler are also active in the film business. Published in 2005 a documentary about Haskell Wexler, Tell Them Who You Are, produced by his son Mark.