Michael Ritchie, 62: director
sankkuss
Michael Ritchie, 62, Director of 'Smile' and 'Downhill Racer' Is Dead
By LAWRENCE VAN GELDER
Michael Ritchie, who directed films like "Downhill Racer," "The Candidate,"
"Smile," "The Bad News Bears," "Semi-Tough" and "Fletch," died on Monday. He
was 62 and lived in Manhattan.
The cause was complications of prostate cancer, said his wife, Jimmie B.
Ritchie.
Mr. Ritchie, who attracted attention in his senior year at Harvard in 1960
by directing the original production of the Arthur Kopit play "Oh Dad, Poor
Dad, Mamma's Hung You in the Closet and I'm Feelin' So Sad" in Cambridge,
Mass., developed his career in television before making his Hollywood
feature debut in 1969 with "Downhill Racer."
Based on a screenplay by James Salter, this fictional examination of an
egocentric American Olympic skier, played by Robert Redford, was celebrated
for the realism and excitement of its racing scenes and established Mr.
Ritchie's reputation as a skilled storyteller drawn to tales about the price
to be paid for success.
In more than 20 years of filmmaking, Mr. Ritchie had his share of successes
and failures, a record that he assessed philosophically. "You have to keep
some perspective on your work," he said in a 1993 interview in The New York
Times. "I was once working on an unsuccessful film with Michael Caine, and
he told me this Kipling line that has stayed with me for years: `If you can
treat success and failure as the twin impostors they are.' That's really
what it's about."
At the time, Mr. Ritchie had just completed "The Positively True Adventures
of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom," an HBO production, starring
Holly Hunter, about a woman accused of plotting to kill the mother of her
daughter's cheerleading rival.
"The film really defied conventional plotting and the idea that you have to
have a sympathetic central character," he said.
He added that cable television offered "opportunities to do the kind of
interesting films that were done in the 1970's, films that are not quite
mainstream but are very accessible."
"Directors used to think they were slumming when they worked on television,"
he continued. "Not anymore."
For the French company Audio Visual Library, Mr. Ritchie completed
"Einstein," an ambitious documentary about Albert Einstein and his theories.
Mr. Ritchie was born on Nov. 28, 1938, in Waukesha, Wis. His family later
moved to Berkeley, Calif., where his father, Benbow, was a professor of
experimental psychology at the University of California at Berkeley, and his
mother, Patty, was the art and music librarian for the city.
At Harvard, he received a degree in history and literature, and his work on
Mr. Kopit's play led to a job offer from Robert Saudek, the producer of the
"Omnibus" television series.
Mr. Ritchie also directed episodes of "Profiles in Courage" and series like
"The Man From U.N.C.L.E.," "Dr. Kildare" and "Felony Squad" before Mr.
Redford invited him to direct "Downhill Racer." His other films include "The
Island" (1980), "The Golden Child" (1986), "Diggs town" (1992) and "The
Fantasticks" (2000).
Besides his wife, he is survived by a son, Steven P. Q. of Berkeley; four
daughters, Lauren A. of Los Angeles, Jessica A. S. of San Anselmo, Calif.,
and Lillian and Miriam R. of Manhattan; two stepchildren, Nelly Bly of
Manhattan and Billy Bly of Harris, N.Y.; a brother, John; and a sister,
Elsie.
Mr. Ritchie said he didn't always win the opportunity to direct the films he
wanted to make.
"You take what you get," he said. "Besides, I truly want to make movies that
are not films in the art house sense of the word but films to be enjoyed."
Matthew Hubbard
>
> April 18, 2001 -- NY Times
>
> Michael Ritchie, 62, Director of 'Smile' and 'Downhill Racer' Is Dead
>
> By LAWRENCE VAN GELDER
>
> Michael Ritchie, who directed films like "Downhill Racer," "The
> Candidate," "Smile," "The Bad News Bears," "Semi-Tough" and "Fletch,"
> died on Monday. He was 62 and lived in Manhattan.
Not a lot of classics, but some okay comedies on the list. Looking on
the IMDb, it is interesting to note that he wrote the story for the very
formulaic "Cool Runnings" movie and that he once used the name Alan
Smithee (the "take my name of this film" name) as a producer of the
slasher film comedy "Student Bodies".
For this guy, directing films was not an adventure, it was a job.
MattH
Frank M. Miller
wrote:
=sankkuss wrote:
=>
=> April 18, 2001 -- NY Times
=>
=> Michael Ritchie, 62, Director of 'Smile' and 'Downhill Racer' Is Dead
=>
=> By LAWRENCE VAN GELDER
=>
=> Michael Ritchie, who directed films like "Downhill Racer," "The
=> Candidate," "Smile," "The Bad News Bears," "Semi-Tough" and "Fletch,"
=> died on Monday. He was 62 and lived in Manhattan.
=
= Not a lot of classics, but some okay comedies on the list. Looking on
=the IMDb, it is interesting to note that he wrote the story for the very
=formulaic "Cool Runnings" movie and that he once used the name Alan
=Smithee (the "take my name of this film" name) as a producer of the
=slasher film comedy "Student Bodies".
=
= For this guy, directing films was not an adventure, it was a job.
=
Not true. He had his share of artistic successes, but none of them fared
well enough commercially to help him carve the kind of niche more
consistently ambitious directors like Robert Altman did. Still, there are
wonderful moments in "The Candidate," "Smile" and "Semi-Tough" that give a
sense of what he could have accomplished had he come along even ten years
earlier.
+===================================================================+
Frank Miller, 10086 Sunset Blvd., FABville
frnklin at mindspring dot com (please note correct email address, albeit spelled out)
Atlanta, GA
"Hey, guys, what's the big deal? We sing to the gorilla, and then we move on." --Rachel Davis Matthews Clark Frame Cory Cory Cory Hutchins, final episode, ANOTHER WORLD
+===================================================================+
sankkuss
=====
I agree... and if you haven't seen "The Positively True Adventures of the
Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom", rent it. A gem, in which Holly
Hunter earned a well-deserved Emmy. It shows what good work Ritchie could
still do, with a decent script.
Hyfler/Rosner
"Frank M. Miller" <NOSPAM....@mindspring.com> wrote in message
news:NOSPAM.frnklin-1804011719350001@user->
Not true. He had his share of artistic successes, but none of them fared
> well enough commercially to help him carve the kind of niche more
> consistently ambitious directors like Robert Altman did. Still, there are
> wonderful moments in "The Candidate," "Smile" and "Semi-Tough" that give a
> sense of what he could have accomplished had he come along even ten years
> earlier.
>
Absolutely correct. I always loved The Candidate. And whether or not
Ritchie is to be given credit, look how much ahead of its time the subject
matter was. God that sentence was awful, but you get the idea.
Holy Name
see, what else did he do? But yeah The Candidate, Smile is really good.
I know he did a bunch more. Most of his movies were about competition.
Bad News Bears?
www.icoc.org
www.trianglechurch.org This is a Thomas Coleman email.This is a Thomas
Coleman email. <BR><a
href="http://community.webtv.net/hname/HolyNamePage">Holy Name Page</a>
lucio fulci is still awesome
greatest role and I have a soft spot for 1983s The Survivors with Robin
Williams and Walter Matthau,,,both directed by Richie
BRENT
http://community.webtv.net/BRENTSTARNES/brentsfilmrants