Peter Bogdanovich – the benchmark director dies at the age of 82.
He was labeled as the “ascot-wearing cinephile”
Peter Bogdanovich directed black and white classics like paper Moon and The Last Picture Show.
Peter Bogdanovich reportedly died peacefully at his home in Los Angeles in the early hours of Thursday morning.
His daughter Antonia Bogdanovich confirmed his death stating that the causes of death were natural.
He was considered to be part of a generation of young “new Hollywood” directors and Bogdanovich rose to fame as the “Heralded Auteur” from the very beginning.
His early film targets and the last picture show earned him 8 academy award nominations and he won two. This was his start towards the road of stardom and fame.
The last picture show was an amazing comedy featuring Barbra Streisand and Ryan O’Neal while the paper moon is said to be one of his finest films which were on the topic of the depression-era.
He suffered a turbulent personal life which was reflected in his work as well.
His affair with Cybill Shepherd during the making of the film the last picture show while being married to the murder of his playmate girlfriend Dorothy Stratten all of these incidents harrowed his life forever.
His death got all of his coworkers and colleagues teared up as tributes started pouring in as soon as the news made it to social media.
Streisand wrote on Twitter that, “Peter always made me laugh! He’ll keep making them laugh up there, too.”
Francis Ford Coppola wrote in an email, “I’ll never forget attending a premiere for ‘The Last Picture Show.’ I remember at its end, the audience leaped up all around me bursting into applause lasting easily 15 minutes. I’ll never forget although I felt I had never myself experienced a reaction like that, that Peter and his film deserved it. May he sleep in bliss for eternity, enjoying the thrill of our applause forever.”
Tatum O’Neal posted a photo of herself with him on Instagram, writing “Peter was my heaven & earth. A father figure. A friend. From ‘Paper Moon’ to ‘Nickelodeon’ he always made me feel safe. I love you, Peter.”
And Martin Scorsese, in an email, wrote that “In the ’60s, at a crucial moment in the history of the movie business and the art of cinema, Peter Bogdanovich was right there at the crossroads of the Old Hollywood and the New… Peter’s debut, ’Targets,’ is still one of his very best films. With ‘The Last Picture Show,’ he made a movie that seemed to look backward and forward at the same time as well as a phenomenal success… In the years that followed, Peter had setbacks and tragedies, and he just kept going on, constantly reinventing himself.”
