Alex Grasshoff

Alexander Grasshoff (December 10, 1928 – April 5, 2008) was an American documentary filmmaker and director who received three Oscar nominations.

Alex Grasshoff
Born(1928-12-10)December 10, 1928
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
DiedApril 5, 2008(2008-04-05) (aged 79)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
EducationUniversity of Southern California
Occupations
  • Filmmaker
  • director

Along with fellow producer Robert Cohn, he is perhaps best known for writing and directing the documentary Young Americans, which won an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature during the 1969 ceremony.[1] However, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences soon found out the film had been shown first in October 1967, thus making it ineligible for a 1968 award and the Oscar was revoked.[1] (This marks the only time, as of 2022, where an Academy Award was first awarded and then revoked.) Grasshoff, who reportedly slept with the Oscar on the first night, also directed Academy Award-nominated films The Really Big Family (1966) and Journey to the Outer Limits (1973).[1] He also directed the award-winning The Wave (1981), based on Ron Jones' The Third Wave experiment, and Future Shock (1972), based on Alvin Toffler's book and hosted by Orson Welles.

Biography

Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Grasshoff earned a bachelor's degree in cinema at the University of Southern California and began his career in the mail room of Paramount in 1951 working up to assistant editor, then editor.[1] He made his directoral debut in a crime film The Jailbreakers released by American International Pictures that Grasshoff also wrote and produced. A home owned by Mr. Grasshoff was rented out to music group the Beastie Boys while they recorded the album Paul's Boutique.

Grasshoff died on April 5, 2008, at his home in Los Angeles of complications from bypass surgery on a leg.[1] He is survived by his wife of 38 years, Madilyn Clark Grasshoff, and two sisters, Yrsa Grasshoff and Edith Rand.[1]

Filmography

Director

Producer

Writer
  • 1960: The Jailbreakers
  • 1964: Hollywood and the Stars (TV Series, 2 episodes)
  • 1967: Young Americans (Documentary)
  • 1972: Wacky Taxi

Editor
  • 1961: Magic Spectacles

References
  1. McLellan, Dennis (2008-04-20). "Alex Grasshoff, 79; documentary filmmaker had to give back his Oscar". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 2008-04-23. Retrieved 2008-04-30.
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