Richard Kotuk

Richard William Kotuk ( born November 23, 1942 in New York City; † 10 February 1998) was an American journalist, film director and film producer.

Life and work

Kotuk was born in 1942 as son of John and Victoria Kotuk in New York. He obtained in 1964 at New York University with a bachelor's degree. The following year, he participated in a writing workshop at the University of Iowa. From 1976 to 1978 he attended the New School for Social Research in New York.

Kotuk worked as a journalist and filmmaker for WNET -13, a TV station of the Educational Broadcasting Corporation. Among other things, he turned from 1971 to 1975 several articles for The 51st State, a TV documentary series about New York. He then spent eight years Senior Film Producer of the PBS show Bill Moyers Journal. After that, he worked for the CBS station WCBS - TV.

1983 produced Kotuk together with Ara Chekmayan the documentation Children of Darkness, the critically examines the handling of mentally ill children in U.S. hospitals. For the film, they were honored with an Oscar nomination.

In the 1990s Kotuk filmed the documentary Travis about the everyday life of a boy who suffers from AIDS. The shooting in the Bronx lasted three years. Shortly after completion of the film Kotuk succumbed at age 55 of a heart attack.

Awards (selection)

Filmography (selection)

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