“Forgotten Hollywood”- The Passing of Haskell Wexler…

Posted on December 27, 2015 by raideoman1 | No Comments

Manny P. here… HaskellWexler

   Haskell Wexler (right) was a two-time Academy Award-winning cinematographer and a prominent social activist who took on projects for their cultural merit. This was rare for behind-the-scenes cinematic types. His innovative approach to film helped him win Oscars for Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and the Woody Guthrie biopic Bound for Glory. Frequent collaborators included Hal Ashby, Norman Jewison, and John Sayles.

   Wexler also photographed some of the most politicized and influential films of the 1960s and 1970s, such as The Best ManThe Thomas Crown Affair, the Jane Fonda-Jon Voight anti-war classic Coming Home, and the racial drama In the Heat of the Night, as well as the Oscar-winning adaptation of Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Six of the films he worked on have been preserved by the National Film Registry for being culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant, including American Graffiti and Days of Heaven.

   Surprisingly, he began his career working on documentaries, and on the television program, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. Wexler was judged to be one of film history’s ten most influential in a survey of members of the International Cinematographers Guild,  the first active cameraman to be awarded such an honor. He was the rare cinematographer known enough by the general public to receive a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame. His son is Oscar-nominated sound director, Jeff Wexler.

   Haskell Wexler (above) was 93.

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   Jason Wingreen was the actor who provided the familiar voice of Boba Fett in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. He was also well known for his role as the bartender Harry Snowden on All in the Familyand its continuation series, Archie Bunker’s Place. Prior to this, Wingreen was a regular during the 1960-1961 season of The Untouchables. He was also memorable in three episodes of The Twilight Zone.

jason wingreen2   boba fett

JASON WINGREEN                 BOBA FETT

   He worked regularly on television, guest-starring on Dr. Kildare, The Outer Limits, The Many Loves of Dobie GillisThe Man From U.N.C.L.E.BonanzaMission: Impossible, Star TrekThe Rockford Files, and The Fugitive. Later, he had a recurring role in Matlock. In 1979, Wingreen was a part of the cast in the mini-series Roots: The Next Generation. His last appearances was on an episode of Seinfeld and In the Heat of the Night.

   Jason Wingreen was 95.

Until next time>                               “never forget”

This entry was posted on Sunday, December 27th, 2015 at 11:39 am and is filed under Blog by Manny Pacheco. You can follow any comments to this post through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.


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