Director John Frankenheimer Dies at 72

By Cmaster2 July 8, 2002 12:22 PM

(IMDB) - Legendary Hollywood director John Frankenheimer, who helmed such films as The Manchurian Candidate and The Birdman of Alcatraz, died Saturday in a Los Angeles hospital. He was 72. Frankenheimer died of a stroke at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where he had undergone spinal surgery. The filmmaker's career spanned almost five decades, and his work ranged from social dramas to political thrillers, and included a highly regarded run of feature films in the 1960s. Frankenheimer made his name with the political thriller The Manchurian Candidate in 1962. That same year he made the stirring social drama Birdman of Alcatraz, starring Burt Lancaster as a prisoner at San Francisco's Alcatraz prison who becomes an expert on birds. More recently, he directed Robert De Niro in Ronin (1998), Ben Affleck in Reindeer Games (2000) and this year's HBO special Path To War, an examination of the White House politics leading up to the Vietnam War. Directors Guild of America President Martha Coolidge said in a statement, "John's passion for filmmaking, and his appetite for life, were without equal. He was one of those rarest of people who, simply put, can never be replaced."

Jack: He truly was a great director... RIP, John.

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aww :(   reply

Posted by Yakobusan (spam@mysan.de) on July 8, 2002 12:55 PM

he truly was a great director...
if you want to see one of his last work, then point your browser to BMWfilms.com and watch "Ambush"...
RIP, John!

RE: aww :(   reply

Posted by A random shemp (No Email) on July 8, 2002 1:24 PM

He probably would have lasted another 10 years and left a better legacy than Reindeer Games if CS Medical hadn't f*cked him up in surgery.  Goddamn managed care system.

RE: aww :(   reply

Posted by Wonko. (No Email) on July 10, 2002 1:19 PM

Ding dong the dick is dead, the wicked dick, ding dong the the wicked dick is dead.

RE: aww :(   reply

Posted by kilojay (joesmo@yahoo.com) on July 16, 2002 1:04 PM

You're not funny wonko.  I never liked you when you were here and I hate you even more for making Jack like you better than me.

Jerk!