Robert Altman

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February 20th, 1925

November 20, 2006

Los Angeles, California, USA

Robert Bernard Altman

LaVonne Elmer (m 1946–51)

Lotus Corelli (m 1954–57)

Kathryn Reed (m 1959–2006)

Did We Miss Any?

Director

A Prairie Home Companion (2006) (producer)

"Tanner on Tanner" (4 episodes, 2004) (producer)

The Company (2003) (producer)

Gosford Park (2001) (producer, writer)

Dr T and the Women (2000) (producer)

Cookie's Fortune (1999) (producer)

The Gingerbread Man (1998)

"Gun" (1 episode, 1997) (producer)

Kansas City (1996) (producer, writer)

Jazz '34 (1996)(producer)

Prêt-à-Porter (1994)(producer, writer)

Short Cuts (1993) (writer)

The Real McTeague (1993) (TV) (writer)

Black and Blue (1993) (TV)

The Player (1992)

McTeague (1992) (TV) (writer)

Vincent & Theo (1990)

"Tanner '88" (11 episodes, 1988) (producer)

The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial (1988) (TV) (producer)

Aria (1987) (segment "Les Boréades") (writer)

Basements (1987) (TV) (producer)

Beyond Therapy (1987) (writer)

Fool for Love (1985)

The Laundromat (1985) (TV)

O.C. and Stiggs (1985) (producer)

Secret Honor (1984) (producer)

Streamers (1983) (producer)

Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean (1982)

Rattlesnake in a Cooler (1982) (TV) (producer)

Precious Blood (1982) (TV)

Popeye (1980)

HealtH (1980) (producer, writer)

A Perfect Couple (1979) (producer, writer)

Quintet (1979) (producer, writer)

A Wedding (1978) (producer, writer)

3 Women (1977) (producer, writer)

Saturday Night Live (1 episode, 1977)

Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson (1976) (producer, writer)

Nashville (1975) (producer)

California Split (1974) (producer)

Thieves Like Us (1974) (writer)

The Long Goodbye (1973)

Images (1972) (writer)

McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971) (writer)

Brewster McCloud (1970)

M*A*S*H* (1970)

That Cold Day in the Park (1969)

"Premiere" (1 episode, 1968) (producer, writer)

Countdown (1968)

"The Long, Hot Summer" (1 episode, 1965)

Pot au feu (1965)

The Katherine Reed Story (1965)

Nightmare in Chicago (1964) (TV) (producer)

"Kraft Suspense Theatre" (3 episodes, 1963-1964) (producer, writer)

"Combat!" (10 episodes, 1962-1963) (producer, writer)

"The Gallant Men" (1 episode, 1962)

"Kraft Mystery Theater" (3 episodes, 1962)

"Bus Stop" (8 episodes, 1961-1962) (writer)

"Route 66" (1 episode, 1961)

"Bonanza" (8 episodes, 1960-1961)

"The Roaring 20's" (9 episodes, 1960-1961)

"Surfside 6" (1 episode, 1961)

"Lawman" (1 episode, 1961)

"Maverick" (1 episode, 1960) (writer)

"Bronco" (1 episode, 1960)

"Troubleshooters" (14 episodes, 1959-1960)

"U.S. Marshal" (8 episodes, 1959-1960)

"The Gale Storm Show" (1 episode, 1960)

"Sugarfoot" (2 episodes, 1959-1960)

"Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse" (1 episode, 1960)

"The Millionaire" (11 episodes, 1958-1959) (writer)

"Hawaiian Eye" (1 episode, 1959)

"Whirlybirds" (19 episodes, 1958-1959)

"M Squad" (1 episode, 1958)

"Alfred Hitchcock Presents" (2 episodes, 1957-1958)

The James Dean Story (1957) (producer)

The Delinquents (1957) (producer) (writer)

The Magic Bond (1956) (writer)

The Perfect Crime (1955) (writer)

The Builders (1954) (writer)

The Dirty Look (1954) (writer)

Better Football (1954) (writer)

Corn's-A-Poppin' (1954) (co-director, writer)

The Last Mile (1953) (writer)

How to Run a Filling Station (1953) (writer)

"The Pulse of the City" (1 episode, 1953) (writer)

King Basketball (1952) (writer)

The Sound of Bells (1952) (writer)

Modern Football (1951) (writer)

Producer

Roads and Bridges (2001) (executive producer)

Trixie (2000) (producer)

Liv (1998) (producer)

Afterglow (1997) (producer) br
Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle (1994) (producer)

Rich Kids (1979) (executive producer)

Remember My Name (1978) (producer)

The Late Show (1977) (producer)

Welcome to L.A. (1976) (producer)

"Suspicion" (consulting producer) (1 episode, 1957)

Writer

"Troubleshooters" (1 episode, 1959)

Honeymoon for Harriet (1950) (writer)

Bodyguard (1948) (story) (as Robert B. Altman)

Christmas Eve (1947) (uncredited)

Actor

Endless Love (1981)

Events (1970)

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947) (uncredited)

Appearances

O Lucky Malcolm! (2006)

"HBO First Look" (1 episode, 2006)

A Wedding: Altman Style (2006)

Developing the World of 'Quintet' (2006)

Perspective on Altman's 'Perfect Couple' (2006)

The 78th Annual Academy Awards (2006) (TV)

A Prairie Home Companion: Exclusive Sneak Peek (2006)

Altman on 'O.C. and Stiggs' (2005)

Film as Fine Art (2005)

A Note of Triumph: The Golden Age of Norman Corwin (2005)

The American Ruling Class (2005)

Biography (3 episodes, 2002-2004)

Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession (2004) (TV)

Robert Altman: Art and Soul (2004)

Épreuves d'artistes (2004)

Behind the Scenes: Tanner on Tanner (2004)

Imagining 'Images' (2003)

A Decade Under the Influence (2003)

Rip Van Marlowe (2002)

The 74th Annual Academy Awards (2002) (TV)

"+ de cinéma" (1 episode, 2002)

A Salute to Robert Altman, an American Maverick (2002) (TV)

"Omnibus" (1 episode, 2002)

Still Cher (2002) (TV)

The Making of 'Gosford Park' (2001) (TV)

"Anatomy of a Scene" (1 episode)

"The Directors" (1 episode, 2001)

The Orange British Academy Film Awards (2001) (TV)

The Making of 'Dr. T and the Women' (2001)

The Truth as I Know It (2001)

"History vs. Hollywood" (1 episode, 2001)

"Backstory" (1 episode, 2000)

A Conversation with Robert Altman (2000)

Altman on His Own Terms (2000) (TV)

Twentieth Century Fox: The Blockbuster Years (2000) (TV)

Enlisted: The Story of 'M*A*S*H' (2000)

Hitchcock: Shadow of a Genius (1999) (TV)

Film-Fest DVD: Issue 1 - Sundance (1999)

Where Music Meets Film: Live from Sundance (1999) (TV)

Frank Capra's American Dream (1997) (TV)

The 66th Annual Academy Awards (1994) (TV)

The 65th Annual Academy Awards (1993) (TV)

The Charlie Rose Show (1 episode, 1993)

Luck, Trust & Ketchup: Robert Altman in Carver Country (1993)

"Intimate Portrait" (1 episode)

One on One with Robert Altman (1993

"Días de cine" (1 episode, 1992)

"The South Bank Show" (1 episode, 1990)

Hollywood Mavericks (1990)

Before the Nickelodeon: The Cinema of Edwin S. Porter (1982)

"Signature" (1 episode, 1981)

"The Dick Cavett Show" (1 episode, 1972)

AFI Awards, USA

2002 Won AFI Film Award AFI Director of the Year for: Gosford Park (2001)

The Academy Awards

2006 Honorary Award For a career that has repeatedly reinvented the art form and inspired filmmakers and audiences alike.

2002 Nominated Oscar Best Director for: Gosford Park (2001)

2002 Nominated Oscar Best Picture for: Gosford Park (2001) Shared with:Bob Balaban,David Levy

1994 Nominated Oscar Best Director for: Short Cuts (1993)

1993 Nominated Oscar Best Director for: The Player (1992)

1976 Nominated Oscar Best Director for: Nashville (1975)

1976 Nominated Oscar Best Picture for: Nashville (1975)

1971 Nominated Oscar Best Director for: MASH (1970)

American Society of Cinematographers

1999 Board of the Governors Award

Australian Film Institute

2002 Nominated Best Foreign Film Award for: Gosford Park (2001). Shared with: Bob Balaban & David Levy

BAFTA Awards

2002 Won Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film for: Gosford Park (2001). Shared with: Bob Balaban & David Levy

2002 Nominated David Lean Award for Direction for: Gosford Park (2001)

1993 Won BAFTA Film Award Best Direction for: The Player (1992)

1993 Nominated BAFTA Film Award Best Film for: The Player (1992). Shared with: David Brown, Michael Tolkin & Nick Wechsler

1979 Nominated BAFTA Film Award Best Direction for: A Wedding (1978)

1979 Nominated Best Screenplay for: A Wedding (1978). Shared with: John Considine, Patricia Resnick & Allan F. Nicholls

1971 Nominated BAFTA Film Award Best Direction for: MASH (1970)

Berlin International Film Festival

2006 Won Reader Jury of the "Berliner Morgenpost" for: A Prairie Home Companion (2006)

2006 Nominated Golden Berlin Bear for: A Prairie Home Companion (2006)

2002 Honorary Golden Berlin Bear

1999 Won Prize of the Guild of German Art House Cinemas for: Cookie's Fortune (1999)

1999 Nominated Golden Berlin Bear for: Cookie's Fortune (1999)

1985 Won FIPRESCI Prize Forum of New Cinemafor: Secret Honor (1984). Tied with Cabra Marcado Para Morrer (1985)

1976 Won Golden Berlin Bear for: Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson (1976)

Bodil Awards

2007 Nominated Bodil Best American Film (Bedste amerikanske film)for: A Prairie Home Companion (2006)

2003 Nominated Bodil Best American Film (Bedste amerikanske film)for: Gosford Park (2001)

1995 Won Bodil Best American Film (Bedste amerikanske film)for: Short Cuts (1993)

1993 Won Bodil Best Non-European Film (Bedste ikke-europæiske film) for: The Player (1992)

1977 Won Bodil Best Non-European Film (Bedste ikke-europæiske film) for: Nashville (1975)

Boston Society of Film Critics Awards
1993 Won BSFC Award Best Screenplay for: Short Cuts (1993). Shared with: Frank Barhydt

Cannes Film Festival

1996 Nominated Golden Palm for: Kansas City (1996)

1992 Won Best Director for: The Player (1992)

1992 Nominated Golden Palm for: The Player (1992)
1987 Nominated Golden Palm for: Aria (1987). Shared with: Bruce Beresford, Bill Bryden, Jean-Luc Godard, Derek Jarman, Franc Roddam,
Nicolas Roeg, Ken Russell, Charles Sturridge & Julien Temple

1986 Nominated Golden Palm for: Fool for Love (1985)

1977 Nominated Golden Palm for: 3 Women (1977)

1972 Nominated Golden Palm for: Images (1972)

1970 Won Golden Palm for: MASH (1970)

Cartagena Film Festival

1976 Won Golden India Catalina Best Director (Mejor Director) for: Nashville (1975)

Nominated Golden India Catalina Best Film (Mejor Película) for: Nashville (1975)

Chicago Film Critics Association Awards

2002 Nominated CFCA Award Best Director for: Gosford Park (2001)

César Awards, France

2003 Nominated César Best European Union Film (Meilleur film de l'Union Européenne) for: Gosford Park (2001) UK

1995 Nominated César Best Foreign Film (Meilleur film étranger) for: Short Cuts (1993)

1993 Nominated César Best Foreign Film (Meilleur film étranger) for: The Player (1992)

1979 Nominated César Best Foreign Film (Meilleur film étranger) for: A Wedding (1978)

1976 Nominated César Best Foreign Film (Meilleur film étranger) for: Nashville (1975)

DVD Exclusive Awards

2003 Nominated DVD Premiere Award Best Audio Commentary, Library Release for: MASH (1970)
For the Five Star Collection

Directors Guild of America

2005 Nominated DGA Award Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Movies for Television for: "Tanner on Tanner" (2004) for: parts I-IV

1994 Lifetime Achievement Award

1993 Nominated DGA Award Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures for: The Player (1992)

1976 Nominated DGA Award Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures for: Nashville (1975)

1971 Nominated DGA Award Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures for: MASH (1970)

Emmy Awards

1993 Nominated Emmy Outstanding Individual Achievement in Directing in a Variety or Music Program for: Black and Blue (1993) (TV) (Shown within "Great Performances" (1972)

1989 Won Emmy Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series for: "Tanner '88" (1988) for episode "The Boiler Room"

Evening Standard British Film Awards

2002 Won Evening Standard British Film Award Best Film for: Gosford Park (2001)

Festróia - Tróia International Film Festival

1986 Won Golden Dolphin for: Fool for Love (1985)

Film Society of Lincoln Center

1994 Gala Tribute

Golden Globe Awards

2002 Won Golden Globe Best Director - Motion Picture for: Gosford Park (2001)

1994 Nominated Golden Globe Best Screenplay - Motion Picture for: Short Cuts (1993). Shared with: Frank Barhydt

1993 Nominated Golden Globe Best Director - Motion Picture for: The Player (1992)

1976 Nominated Golden Globe Best Director - Motion Picture for: Nashville (1975)

1971 Nominated Golden Globe Best Motion Picture Director for: MASH (1970)

Gotham Awards

2000 Lifetime Achievement Award

Goya Awards

2003 Nominated Goya Best European Film (Mejor Película Europea) for: Gosford Park (2001) UK

The Grammy Awards

1999 Nominated Grammy Best Long Form Music Video for: Jazz '34 (1996). Shared with: "various artists"

Hochi Film Awards

2007 Won Hochi Film Award Best Foreign Film for: A Prairie Home Companion (2006)

Independent Spirit Awards

2007 Nominated Independent Spirit Award Best Director for: A Prairie Home Companion (2006)

2000 Nominated Independent Spirit Award Best Feature for: Cookie's Fortune (1999). Shared with: Ernst Etchie Stroh

1995 Nominated Independent Spirit Award Best Feature for: Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle (1994)

1994 Won Independent Spirit Award Best Director for: Short Cuts (1993)

Best Screenplay for: Short Cuts (1993). Shared with:Frank Barhydt

Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists

2002 Won Silver Ribbon Best Director - Foreign Film (Regista del Miglior Film Straniero)
for: Gosford Park (2001)

1994 Won Silver Ribbon Best Director - Foreign Film (Regista del Miglior Film Straniero)
for: Short Cuts (1993)

1993 Won Silver Ribbon Best Director - Foreign Film (Regista del Miglior Film Straniero) for: The Player (1992)

Joseph Plateau Awards

1993 Joseph Plateau Life Achievement Award

Kansas City Film Critics Circle Awards

1976 Won KCFCC Award Best Director for: Nashville (1975)

1971 Won KCFCC Award Best Director for: MASH (1970)

Laurel Awards

1971 Nominated Golden Laurel Best Director 10th place.

London Critics Circle Film Awards

1993 Won ALFS Award Director of the Year for: The Player (1992)

Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards

2004 Career Achievement Award

National Board of Review, USA

1975 Won NBR Award Best Director for: Nashville (1975). Tied with Stanley Kubrick for Barry Lyndon (1975)

National Society of Film Critics Awards, USA

2002 Won NSFC Award Best Director for: Gosford Park (2001)

1975 Won NSFC Award Best Director for: Nashville (1975)

New York Film Critics Circle Awards

2001 Won NYFCC Award Best Director for: Gosford Park (2001)

1992 Won NYFCC Award Best Director for: The Player (1992)

1975 Won NYFCC Award Best Director for: Nashville (1975)

Robert Festival

2003 Won Robert Best American Film (Årets amerikanske film) for: Gosford Park (2001)

San Francisco International Film Festival

2003 Film Society Award for Lifetime Achievement in Directing

Satellite Awards

2006 Auteur Award "In Memoriam"

Southeastern Film Critics Association Awards

1993 Won SEFCA Award Best Director for: The Player (1992)

São Paulo International Film Festival

1997 Won Audience Award Best Documentary for: Jazz '34 (1996)

Turia Awards

1995 Won Turia Award Best Foreign Film for: Short Cuts (1993)

Venice Film Festival

2000 Nominated Golden Lion for: Dr T and the Women (2000)

1996 Career Golden Lion

1993 Won Golden Lion for: Short Cuts (1993). Tied with Trois couleurs: Bleu (1993)

Writers Guild of America, USA

1979 Nominated WGA Award (Screen) Best Comedy Written Directly for the Screen for: A Wedding (1978). Shared with: John Considine, Patricia Resnick & Allan F. Nicholls

1973 Nominated WGA Award (Screen) Best Drama Written Directly for the Screen for: Images (1972)

1972 Nominated WGA Award (Screen) Best Drama Adapted from Another Medium for: McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971) Shared with:Brian McKay

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Film-making is a chance to live many lifetimes.

And when I look around America today I feel we're over-saturated with goods. Like most of western Christian civilization, we feel it's fine if we're comfortable and, if the rest of the world isn't, then that's their problem. We're not generous. And the idea of paying some chief executive $40 million a year is just obscene. I don't deny it's nice to have silk sheets or whatever, but we live in a deeply unequal society and our luxury is both excessive and wasteful.

Retirement? You're talking about death, right?

Jazz has endured because it doesn't have a beginning or an ending. It's a moment.

What is a cult? It just means not enough people to make a minority.

I've about had it - the agencies, the winking, the networks, the ratings. Anyone who thinks TV is an art medium is crazy - it's an advertising medium.

Wisdom and love have nothing to do with one another. Wisdom is staying alive, survival. You're wise if you don't stick your finger in the light plug. Love - you'll stick your finger in anything.

I'll give you the same advice I give my children: Never take advice from anybody.

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His father was Bernard Clement Altman, a wealthy insurance salesman and amateur gambler and his mother was Helen Altman (née Matthews), a Mayflower descendant from Nebraska.

His paternal grandfather, Frank Altman Sr., anglicized the spelling of the family name from "Altmann" to "Altman".

He had a Catholic upbringing, however did not continue to practice as an adult.

He was educated at Jesuit schools.

In 1945, he enlisted in the Air Force and became a co-pilot of a B-24. After his discharge from the military, he became fascinated by movies and he and his first wife, LaVonne Elmer, moved to Hollywood, California.

Robert Altman found success late in life. and after serving as a bomber pilot during the Second World War, attempted numerous abortive business ventures, including a dog-tattooing concern, before trying his hand at film. Altman spent six years making industrial documentaries in his home town of Kansas City, Missouri, before he made his feature-film debut with The Delinquents (1957). He moved into television and took ten years to make another feature, Countdown (1967), a space-race drama that launched the careers of James Caan and Robert Duvall.

Altman’s breakthrough film was M*A*S*H* (1970), a job he was only assigned to after it had been rejected by dozens of directors.

Altman was one of the few filmmakers who paid full attention to the possibilities of sound. He layered his soundtracks into dense audio experiences, often overlapping the dialogue, so that audiences are forced to make a concerted effort to listen and get involved. He was also not above putting jokes on his soundtracks, a reward for viewers paying attention: listen for the movie announcements that appear on the camp PA system in M*A*S*H or the musical theme for The Long Goodbye that turns up in many unexpected places, even as a doorbell chime.

He designed a watch called "Time to Reflect" for Swatch in 1995 to commemorate the centenary of the birth of cinema.

He was a member of the NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) Advisory Board.

Salary

M*A*S*H* (1970) $75,000

Must-see Movies

M*A*S*H* (1970)

McCabe and Mrs. Miller

Nashville (1975)

The Player (1992)

Short Cuts (1993)

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