Famous Directors that had involvment with Oscar movies
by AlexHartsell | created - 16 Apr 2013 | updated - 20 May 2015 | PublicInvolves acting, directing, writing, producing (any kind), crew member and thanks credits. Directors who didn't get an Oscar nomination but help make the Academy Award films. Also some of these directors had their Oscar films produced by Academy Award nominee or wining producers while some did Academy Awards films without being nominated while being in the Academy Awards' In Memorial segment.
New updated: if that person who was not nominated for an Oscar did work as a producer of another person's film, that person is added to this list. The same goes for the crew and cast.
Final Updated: When a producer who made an Academy Award film while not being nominated for Best Picture's name is in the In Memorial segment, the director of that film he or she producer will be moved to a new row of this list. Also I have now add famous Hollywood producers who were not nominated for Best Picture, but had some involvement such as acting or thanks credits for Academy Award nominated directors' works and as well as their Academy Award nominated films and the directors that they worked with that were also not nominated for Best Director.
1. Joseph Sargent
Director | Jaws: The Revenge
Joseph Sargent was born on July 22, 1925 in Jersey City, New Jersey, USA. He was a director and actor, known for Jaws: The Revenge (1987), The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974) and Nightmares (1983). He was married to Carolyn Nelson and Mary Carver. He died on December 22, 2014 in Malibu, ...
From Here to Eternity Tobruk
2. Irvin Kershner
Director | Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back
Irvin Kershner was born on April 29, 1923 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A graduate of the University of Southern California film school, Kershner began his career in 1950, producing documentaries for the United States Information Service in the Middle East. He later turned to television, directing...
Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back The Last Temptation of Christ
3. Tony Scott
Producer | Domino
Tony Scott was a British-born film director and producer. He was the youngest of three brothers, one of whom is fellow film director Ridley Scott. He was born in North Shields, Northumberland, England to parents Jean and Colonel Francis Percy Scott. As a result of his father's career in the British...
Top Gun Beverly Hills Cop II Days of Thunder Crimson Tide The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford Unstoppable
4. John Landis
Director | The Blues Brothers
John Landis began his career in the mail room of 20th Century-Fox. A high-school dropout, 18-year-old Landis made his way to Yugoslavia to work as a production assistant on Kelly's Heroes (1970). Remaining in Europe, Landis found work as an actor, extra and stuntman in many of the Spanish/Italian "...
The Muppet Movie 1941 An American Werewolf in London Trading Places The Muppets Take Manhattan Coming to America Spider-Man 2
5. John Hughes
Writer | Planes, Trains & Automobiles
John Hughes was an American film director, film producer, and screenwriter. He was credited for creating some of the most memorable comedy films of the 1980s and the 1990s, when he was at the height of his career. He had a talent for writing coming-of-age stories, and for depicting fairly realistic...
Home Alone Beethoven's 2nd
6. John Carpenter
Writer | The Fog
John Howard Carpenter was born in Carthage, New York, to mother Milton Jean (Carter) and father Howard Ralph Carpenter. His family moved to Bowling Green, Kentucky, where his father, a professor, was head of the music department at Western Kentucky University. He attended Western Kentucky ...
The Resurrection of Broncho Billy Starman ParaNorman
7. Joel Schumacher
Director | The Phantom of the Opera
Joel Schumacher was an American film director, film producer, screenwriter and fashion designer from New York City. He rose to fame in the 1980s for directing the coming-of-age drama "St. Elmo's Fire" (1985), and the vampire-themed horror film "The Lost Boys" (1987). In the 1990s, he worked on two ...
Interiors The Wiz Flatliners The Client Batman Forever The Phantom of the Opera
8. Michael Bay
Producer | Armageddon
A graduate of Wesleyan University, Michael Bay spent his 20s working on advertisements and music videos. His first projects after film school were in the music video business. He created music videos for Tina Turner, Meat Loaf, Lionel Richie, Wilson Phillips, Donny Osmond and Divinyls. His work won...
Raiders of the Lost Ark The Rock Armageddon Pearl Harbor Transformers Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Transformers: Dark of the Moon All is Lost
9. Nicolas Roeg
Director | Don't Look Now
When he made his directorial debut in 1970, Nicolas Roeg was already a 23-year veteran of the British film industry, starting out in 1947 as an editing apprentice and working his way up to cinematographer twelve years later. He first came to attention as part of the second unit on David Lean's ...
The Sundowners Lawrence of Arabia Doctor Zhivago A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum Casino Royale Far from the Madding Crowd
10. Joe Wright
Director | Pride & Prejudice
Joe Wright is an English film director. He is best known for Pride & Prejudice (2005), Atonement (2007), Anna Karenina (2012), and Darkest Hour (2017).
Wright always had an interest in the arts, especially painting. He would also make films on his Super 8 camera as well as spend time in the evenings...
Pride & Prejudice Atonement Anna Karenina
11. David Cronenberg
Actor | The Fly
David Cronenberg, also known as the King of Venereal Horror or the Baron of Blood, was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in 1943. His father, Milton Cronenberg, was a journalist and editor, and his mother, Esther (Sumberg), was a piano player. After showing an inclination for literature at an early...
The Fly A History of Violence Eastern Promises Barney's Version
12. Sergio Leone
Writer | Once Upon a Time in America
Sergio Leone was virtually born into the cinema - he was the son of Roberto Roberti (A.K.A. Vincenzo Leone), one of Italy's cinema pioneers, and actress Bice Valerian. Leone entered films in his late teens, working as an assistant director to both Italian directors and U.S. directors working in ...
Bicycle Thieves Quo Vadis The Nun's Story Ben-Hur Unforgiven
13. Tinto Brass
Writer | La vacanza
Giovanni Brass was born on 26 March 1933 into the family of a famous artist, Italico Brass, who was his grandfather. Italico gave his grandson a nickname "Tintoretto," which Giovanni later adapted into his cinematic name, Tinto Brass.
Tinto inherited his grandfather's artistic skills, but he applied...
General Della Rovere
14. Marc Forster
Producer | World War Z
Marc Forster is a German-born filmmaker and screenwriter. He is best known for directing the films Monster's Ball (2001), Finding Neverland (2004), Stay (2005), Stranger than Fiction (2006), The Kite Runner (2007), Quantum of Solace (2008), and World War Z (2013).
His breakthrough film was Monster's...
Monster's Ball Finding Neverland The Kite Runner
15. Jan de Bont
Director | Speed
Jan de Bont was one of 17 children born into a Roman Catholic Dutch family in Eindhoven on 22 October 1943. Credited with being creative and having a good mentality for camera techniques, he became a popular cinematographer. He worked on a huge number of films before finding himself on the ...
Turkish Delight The Clan of the Cave Bear Die Hard Black Rain The Hunt for Red October Flatliners Basic Instinct Speed Twister Minority Report
16. Barry Sonnenfeld
Director | Men in Black
Barry Sonnenfeld was born and raised in New York City. He graduated from New York University Film School in 1978. He started work as director of photography on the Oscar-nominated In Our Water (1982). Then Joel Coen and Ethan Coen hired him for Blood Simple (1984). This film began his collaboration...
In Our Water Throw Momma from the Train Big When Harry Met Sally... Misery Barton Fink The Addams Family Addams Family Values Out of Sight Men in Black Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events Enchanted
17. Walter Hill
Writer | 48 Hrs.
Hill was born in Long Beach, California and educated at Mexico City College and Michigan State University. He worked in oil drilling and construction in the 60s before becoming a 2nd assistant director in 1967. He has written and co-written screenplays, including several uncredited works. He has ...
The Thomas Crown Affair Bullitt Alien Aliens Grand Canyon Alien³ A Few Good Men Geronimo: An American Legend Prometheus
18. Vincent Ward
Director | The Navigator: A Medieval Odyssey
Vincent Ward has produced, executive produced and/or written and directed feature films including What Dreams May Come (Which won an Oscar and was nominated for 2 Academy Awards), The River Queen (Won best film in Shanghai) and The Last Samurai (4 Academy Award nominations and winner of Best ...
Alien³ Leaving Las Vegas What Dreams May Come The Last Samurai
19. Don Taylor
Actor | Stalag 17
Born in Freeport, Pennsylvania, Don Taylor studied law, then speech and drama at Penn State University, where as a freshman he began taking part in college stage productions. Hitchhiking to Hollywood in 1942, the youthful Taylor screen-tested at Warner Brothers but was rejected because of his draft...
The Human Comedy Thousands Cheer The Naked City Battleground The Blue Veil Father of the Bride Stalag 17 Tom Sawyer
20. Sam Raimi
Director | Spider-Man
Highly inventive U.S. film director/producer/writer/actor Sam Raimi first came to the attention of film fans with the savage, yet darkly humorous, low-budget horror film, The Evil Dead (1981). From his childhood, Raimi was a fan of the cinema and, before he was ten-years-old, he was out making ...
A Simple Plan Spider-Man Spider-Man 2
21. Paul Schrader
Writer | First Reformed
Although his name is often linked to that of the "movie brat" generation (Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, George Lucas, Brian De Palma, etc.) Paul Schrader's background couldn't have been more different than theirs. His strict Calvinist parents refused to allow him to see a...
Taxi Driver Obsession Raging Bull The Last Temptation of Christ Affliction A Civil Action
22. John Flynn
Director | Lock Up
John Flynn was a very fine, efficient and sadly underrated director who excelled at making mean'n'lean crime pictures. His movies are distinguished by tight plots, a hard, no-nonsense tone, and a taut, streamlined and fiercely economical directorial style. John was born on March 14, 1932 in Chicago...
West Side Story Two for the Seesaw The Great Escape What a Way to Go!
23. Richard Donner
Director | Superman
Richard Donner was born on April 24, 1930 in The Bronx, New York City, New York, USA. He was a director and producer, known for Superman (1978), Ladyhawke (1985) and Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut (1980). He was married to Lauren Shuler Donner. He died on July 5, 2021 in Los Angeles, ...
The Omen Superman Inside Moves Ladyhawke Lethal Weapon Scrooged Leathal Weapon 2 Maverick
24. Richard Lester
Director | A Hard Day's Night
Richard Lester was one of the most influential directors of the 1960s, and continued his career into the 1970s and early '80s. He is best remembered for the two films he helmed starring The Beatles: A Hard Day's Night (1964) and Help! (1965), the frenetic cutting style of which was seen by many as ...
The Running Jumping & Standing Still Film A Hard Day's Night A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum The Four Musketeers: Milady's Revenge Superman Butch and Sundance: The Early Days
25. Garry Marshall
Actor | A League of Their Own
Garry Kent Marshall (November 13, 1934 - July 19, 2016) was an American actor and filmmaker. He started his career in the 1960s writing for The Lucy Show and The Dick Van Dyke Show before he developed Neil Simon's 1965 play The Odd Couple for television in 1970. He gained fame for creating Happy ...
Goldfinger Beaches Pretty Woman Big
26. Penny Marshall
Actress | Laverne & Shirley
Penny Marshall was born Carole Penny Marshall on October 15, 1943 in Manhattan. The Libra was 5' 6 1/2", with brown hair and green eyes. She was the daughter of Marjorie (Ward), a tap dance teacher, and Anthony "Tony" Marshall, an industrial film director. She was the younger sister of filmmakers ...
1941 Big Awakenings The Preacher's Wife Cinderella Man
27. Jon Favreau
Producer | Chef
Initially an indie film favorite, actor Jon Favreau has progressed to strong mainstream visibility into the millennium and, after nearly two decades in the business, is still enjoying character stardom as well as earning notice as a writer/producer/director.
The amiable, husky-framed actor with the ...
Hoffa Batman Forever Something's Gotta Give Iron Man Iron Man 2 The Avengers Iron Man 3 The Wolf of Wall Street
28. Bryan Singer
Director | X-Men
Bryan Singer is an American film director and producer who got his start writing and co-directing the short film Lions Den with his classmates while he attended USC. He was hired by 20th Century Fox to direct X-Men, which helped kick-start the superhero renaissance. He later directed three sequels....
The Usual Suspects King Kong (2005 film) Superman Returns X-Men: Days of Future Past
29. Matthew Vaughn
Producer | Kick-Ass
Matthew Vaughn is an English film producer and director. He is known for producing such films as Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998) and Snatch (2000) and for directing the crime thriller, Layer Cake (2004), the fantasy epic, Stardust (2007), the superhero comedy, Kick-Ass (2010), and the ...
X-Men: Days of Future Past
30. Edgar Wright
Director | Shaun of the Dead
Edgar Howard Wright (born 18 April 1974) is an English director, screenwriter, producer, and actor. He is best known for his comedic Three Flavours Cornetto film trilogy consisting of Shaun of the Dead (2004), Hot Fuzz (2007), and The World's End (2013), made with recurrent collaborators Simon Pegg...
The Adventures of Tintin Star Trek Into Darkness Ant-Man
31. Jerry Zucker
Producer | Airplane!
Jerry Zucker was born on March 11, 1950 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA. He is a producer and writer, known for Airplane! (1980), Ghost (1990) and Top Secret! (1984). He has been married to Janet Zucker since May 1987. They have two children.
Ghost My Best Friend's Wedding
32. Frank Oz
Actor | The Muppet Show
Frank Richard Oznowicz was born in Hereford, England to puppeteers Frances and Isidore Oznowicz. His family moved to Montana in 1951, eventually settling in Oakland, California. As a teenager, he worked as an apprentice puppeteer at Children's Fairyland amusement park. He is one of the primary ...
Time Piece The Muppet Movie Star Wars V - The Empire Strikes Back The Great Muppet Caper An American Werewolf in London Star Wars VI - Return of the Jedi Trading Places The Muppets Take Manhattan Little Shop of Horrors In & Out Star Wars I - The Phantom Menace Monsters Inc. Star Wars II - Attack of the Clones Star Wars III - Revenge of the Sith
33. George Sidney
Director | Scaramouche
The son of Louis K. Sidney the vice president of M.G.M. and Hazel Mooney of The Mooney Sisters. In his teens he worked as studio messenger going through every department learning the techniques and secrets of the trade. In 1933 he was assigned to direct screen tests of Judy Garland, Robert Taylor ...
Quicker'n a Wink Of Pups and Puzzles Thousands Cheer Anchors Aweigh The Harvey Girls The Three Musketeers The Red Danube Annie Get Your Gun Show Boat Young Bess Kiss Me Kate The Eddy Duchin Story Pal Joey Pepe Bye Bye Birdie The 36th Academy Awards
34. Charles Vidor
Director | Gilda
Hungarian-born Karoly Vidor spent the First World War as a lieutenant in the Austro-Hungarian infantry. Following the armistice, he made his way to Berlin and worked for the German film company Ufa, as editor and assistant director. In 1924, he emigrated to the U.S. and, for several years, earned ...
My Son, My Son! Cover Girl A Song to Remember The Loves of Carmen Hans Christian Anderson Love Me or Leave Me The Joker is Wild A Farewell to Arms Song Without End
35. Robert Aldrich
Director | Emperor of the North Pole
Robert Aldrich entered the film industry in 1941 when he got a job as a production clerk at RKO Radio Pictures. He soon worked his way up to script clerk, then became an assistant director, a production manager and an associate producer. He began writing and directing for TV series in the early ...
Story of G.I. Joe The Southerner Limelight What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte The Flight of the Phoenix The Dirty Dozen The Longest Yard
36. Compton Bennett
Writer | How to Undress in Public Without Undue Embarrassment
Compton Bennett started out as a bandleader and then became a commercial artist. He turned out a few amateur films that caught the attention of producer Alexander Korda's London Films, and they hired him in 1932 as a film editor. During World War II he directed a few instructional films for the ...
The Seventh Veil That Forsyte Woman King Solomon's Mines
37. Elliott Nugent
An American minor leading man of early Depression-era talkies who played earnest, boyish leads, Ohio-born Elliott Nugent would earn more distinction as a writer, producer and director of stage and film after all was said and done. The son of playwright/producer/actor J.C. Nugent, Elliott was born ...
She Loves Me Not Up in Arms Just for You
38. Curtis Bernhardt
Director | Kisses for My President
If Curtis Bernhardt is a relative unknown, it's because he didn't direct his first Hollywood feature until 1940 at the age of 41. Bernhardt worked for years in Germany until his Jewish heritage made living there impossible by 1933-- he was arrested by the Gestapo and made a harrowing underground ...
A Stolen Life Possessed The Blue Veil The Merry Widow Miss Sadie Thompson Interrupted Melody Kisses for My President
39. David Miller
Director | The Story of Esther Costello
David Miller was born on November 28, 1909 in Paterson, New Jersey, USA. He was a director and writer, known for The Story of Esther Costello (1957), Twist of Fate (1954) and Flying Tigers (1942). He was married to Frances Raeburn. He died on April 14, 1992 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
Billy the Kid Flying Tigers Our Very Own Sudden Fear Midnight Lace Back Street Captain Newman, M.D.
40. John McTiernan
Director | Die Hard
John McTiernan was born on January 8, 1951 in Albany, New York, USA. He is a director and producer, known for Die Hard (1988), Rollerball (2002) and Last Action Hero (1993). He has been married to Gail Sistrunk since 2012. He was previously married to Kate Harrington, Donna Dubrow and Carol Land.
Predator Die Hard The Hunt for Red October
41. Gordon Parks
Director | The Learning Tree
The pre-eminent American photojournalist of sub-Saharan descent. An acclaimed photographer for Life magazine from the late 40s through late 60s, he turned to directing films, his second of which, the blaxploitation movie Shaft (1971), achieved success at the box office. In 1989 his first film ...
Shaft Malcolm X
42. Alex Proyas
Director | Dark City
Alex Proyas has moved effortlessly between helming TV commercials and music videos to feature films. Born to Greek parents in Egypt, Proyas relocated to Australia with his family when he was three years old. He began making films at age ten and went on to attend the Australian Film Television and ...
I, Robot
43. Roland Emmerich
Writer | Independence Day
Roland Emmerich is a German film director and producer of blockbuster films like The Day After Tomorrow (2004), Godzilla (1998), Independence Day (1996) and The Patriot (2000). Before fame, he originally wanted to be a production designer, but decided to be a director, after watching the original ...
Independence Day The Patriot Anonymous
44. Andrew Dominik
Director | Chopper
Andrew Dominik was born on October 7, 1967 in Wellington, New Zealand. He is a director and writer, known for Chopper (2000), Blonde (2022) and Killing Them Softly (2012).
The New World The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
45. Anthony Mann
Director | El Cid
Anthony Mann was born on June 30, 1906 in San Diego, California, USA. He was a director and writer, known for El Cid (1961), Men in War (1957) and The Glenn Miller Story (1954). He was married to Anna, Sara Montiel and Mildred Mann. He died on April 29, 1967 in London, England.
Sing Your Way Home T-Men The Furies The Naked Spur The Glenn Miller Story Strategic Air Command The Tin Star Cimarron El Cid The Fall of the Roman Empire
46. Roy Rowland
Director | Meet Me in Las Vegas
Roy Rowland studied law at the University of Southern California, then joined MGM as a script clerk. As if getting that job wasn't enough good luck in the middle of the Depression, he also married the niece of MGM chief Louis B. Mayer.
He sharpened his directing chops at MGM with a series of shorts ...
The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T. Meet Me in Las Vegas Rogue Cop
47. Roger Michell
Director | Notting Hill
Roger Michell was born on June 5, 1956 in Pretoria, South Africa. He was a director and writer, known for Notting Hill (1999), Venus (2006) and Enduring Love (2004). He was married to Anna Maxwell Martin and Kate Buffery. He died on September 22, 2021.
Venus The Messenger
48. Brian De Palma
Director | Body Double
Brian De Palma is one of the well-known directors who spear-headed the new movement in Hollywood during the 1970s. He is known for his many films that go from violent pictures, to Hitchcock-like thrillers. Born on September 11, 1940, De Palma was born in Newark, New Jersey in an Italian-American ...
Phantom of Paradise Obsession Carrie 1941 The Untouchables The Black Dahlia Away from Her
49. Clement Virgo
Producer | Greenleaf
Clement Virgo is one of Canada's foremost film directors. In 2015 he directed and co-wrote a six part miniseries adaptation of the Lawrence Hill novel The Book of Negroes (2015) which debuted to record-breaking numbers on the CBC in Canada and on BET in the U.S. and won twelve Canadian Screen ...
Away From Her
50. Jim Jarmusch
Director | Paterson
Moved to New York City at the age of seventeen from Akron, Ohio. Graduated from Columbia University with a B.A. in English, class of '75. Without any prior film experience, he was accepted into the Tisch School of the Arts, New York.
American Dream Sling Blade Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room
51. J.J. Abrams
Producer | Lost
Jeffrey Jacob Abrams was born in New York City and raised in Los Angeles, the son of TV producer parents. At 15, he wrote the music for Don Dohler's Nightbeast (1982). In his senior year of college, he and Jill Mazursky teamed up to write a feature film, which became Taking Care of Business (1990)....
Six Degrees of Separation Armageddon Shrek Capturing the Friedmans Star Trek Margin Call Star Trek Into Darkness Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens
52. Fred Schepisi
Director | Empire Falls
Fred began in advertising in Melbourne, Australia, working in an ad agency before joining the film production house, Cinesound. Two years later he founded the Film House directing both TV commercials and PR documentaries. His first foray into feature film making was The Priest, one chapter of the ...
A Cry in the Dark Six Degrees of Separation
53. George Marshall
Director | How the West Was Won
George Marshall was a versatile American director who came to Hollywood to visit his mother and "have a bit of fun". Expelled from Chicago University in 1912, he was an unsettled young man, drifting from job to job, variously employed as a mechanic, newspaper reporter and lumberjack with a logging ...
The Goldwyn Follies Spring Time Rhythm Riding High Incendiary High The Blue Dahlia The Perils of Pauline Red Garters The Sheepman The Gazebo How the West Was Won Papa's Delicate Condition
54. Richard Thorpe
Director | Knights of the Round Table
After working in vaudeville, on the stage and in early movies, Richard Thorpe launched his directing career in 1923. After directing dozens of low-budget comedies and westerns, his talents were recognized in the mid-'30s when he went to work for MGM. Studio chief Louis B. Mayer valued efficiency in...
Night Must Fall Two Girls and a Sailor What's Next, Corporal Hargrove? Fiesta Three Little Words The Great Caruso Ivanhoe All the Brothers Were Valiant Knights of the Round Table
55. H. Bruce Humberstone
Director | Wonder Man
A juvenile actor, Bruce Humberstone started his career as a script clerk, later serving as assistant director for the likes of King Vidor, Edmund Goulding and Allan Dwan. One of the 28 founders of the Directors Guild of America, Humberstone worked in a number of capacities on several silent films. ...
Tall, Dark and Handsome Sun Valley Serenade To the Shores of Tropli Hello Frisco, Hello Wonder Man
56. Andrew Marton
Assistant_director | Ben-Hur
Budapest-born Endre Marton began in the film industry as an editor and assistant director with Vita and Sascha Films in Vienna. Following a brief sojourn in Hollywood with Ernst Lubitsch in 1923, he returned to Germany, having being signed as chief editor by the Tobis company. He made his ...
Lost Horizon The Seventh Cross Dragon Seed Adam's Rib King Solomon's Mines A Farewell to Arms Ben-Hur The Longest Day 55 Days at Peking Cleopatra The Fall of the Roman Empire Bless the Beasts & Children The Day of the Jackal The Message
57. Fritz Lang
Actor | Le mépris
Fritz Lang was born in Vienna, Austria, in 1890. His father managed a construction company. His mother, Pauline Schlesinger, was Jewish but converted to Catholicism when Lang was ten. After high school, he enrolled briefly at the Technische Hochschule Wien and then started to train as a painter. ...
Fury
58. Arthur Lubin
Director | Phantom of the Opera
A graduate of Carnegie Tech, Arthur Lubin entered films as an actor in the 1920s, and after appearing in many films turned to directing in 1934, mainly for Universal. His forte was light comedy, but he helmed many different types of pictures for the studio. Lubin was the director Universal ...
She Done Him Wrong Buck Privates Phantom of the Opera
59. William Keighley
Director | The Adventures of Robin Hood
William Keighley's professional career spanned three distinct mediums: the theatre, motion pictures and, finally, radio. Initially trained as a stage actor and Broadway director, he arrived in Hollywood shortly after the advent of sound, landing a job with Warner Brothers (where he spent most of ...
'G' Men Varsity Show The Adventures of Robin Hood George Washington Slept Here
60. David Butler
Director | You'll Find Out
David Butler was born on December 17, 1894 in San Francisco, California, USA. He was a director and actor, known for You'll Find Out (1940), Look for the Silver Lining (1949) and If I Had My Way (1940). He was married to Elshie H Schulte. He died on June 14, 1979 in Arcadia, California, USA.
Just Imagine Pigskin Parade Ali Baba Goes to Town You're a Sweetheart Kentucky You'll Find Out Road to Morocco Thank Your Lucky Stars The Princess and the Pirate San Antonio The Time, the Place and the Girl My Wild Irish Rose Look for the Silver Lining It's a Great Feeling Calamity Jane
61. Lionel Jeffries
Actor | Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
With his bald head, firm jawline and bristling moustache, Lionel Jeffries played a nice line of English eccentrics. This belied his RADA training. Following military service in WWII, he played his major roles - everything from Grandpa Potts in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968) to the Marquis of ...
Camelot Chitty Chitty Bang Bang The Canterbury Tales
62. David S. Goyer
Writer | Dark City
David S. Goyer was born on December 22, 1965 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. He is a writer and producer, known for Dark City (1998), The Dark Knight (2008) and Flashforward (2009). He is married to Marina Black. They have two children. He was previously married to Jessika Borsiczky.
Batman Begins The Dark Knight
63. John Lee Hancock
Writer | The Blind Side
John Lee Hancock was born on December 15, 1956 in Longview, Texas, USA. He is a writer and director, known for The Blind Side (2009), Saving Mr. Banks (2013) and The Highwaymen (2019).
The Blind Side Snow White and the Huntsman Saving Mr. Banks
64. Harold Ramis
Writer | Ghostbusters
Born on November 21, 1944 in Chicago, Illinois, Harold Allen Ramis got his start in comedy as Playboy magazine's joke editor and reviewer. In 1969, he joined Chicago's Second City's Improvisational Theatre Troupe before moving to New York to help write and perform in "The National Lampoon Show" ...
Ghostbusters The Mask As Good as It Gets
65. Eli Roth
Producer | Thanksgiving
Eli Raphael Roth was born in Newton, Massachusetts, to Cora (Bialis), a painter, and Sheldon H. Roth, a psychoanalyst, psychiatrist, and clinical professor. His family is Jewish (from Austria, Hungary, Russia, and Poland). He began shooting Super 8 films at the age of eight; after watching Ridley ...
Quiz Show The Mirror Has Two Faces The Lost World: Jurassic Park Inglourious Basterds
66. Jackie Chan
Actor | Ngo si seoi
Hong Kong's cheeky, lovable and best-known film star, Jackie Chan endured many years of long, hard work and multiple injuries to establish international success after his start in Hong Kong's manic martial arts cinema industry.
Jackie was born Kong-sang Chan on April 7, 1954, on Hong Kong's famous ...
Kung Fu Panda Kung Fu Panda 2
67. Jet Li
Actor | Huo Yuan Jia
Jet Li born Li Lian Jie in Beijing, China. He started training at the Beijing wushu academy (wushu is China's national sport, largely a performance version of various martial art styles) at age eight. He won five gold medals in the Chinese championships, his first when he was only 11. In his teens,...
Hero
68. Stephen Hopkins
Producer | Lost in Space
Stephen Hopkins is a producer and director, known for Lost in Space (1998), A Nightmare on Elm Street: The Dream Child (1989) and Predator 2 (1990).
The Ghost and Darkness
69. Rob Cohen
Director | DragonHeart
Rob Cohen is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. One of the 1970's "baby moguls", he built a thriving career as a producer, before concentrating full time on directing from the 1990's, with high adrenaline action blockbusters such as xXx (2002) and Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story (...
Mahogany Thank God It's Friday The Wiz The Witches of Eastwick Ironweed DragonHeart Daylight Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me
70. Rafi Pitts
Writer | Soy Nero
Rafi Pitts' films have attained acclaim and awards around the globe. Pitts' first feature, Season Five (1997), premiered in the Venice Film Festival. His second, Sanam (2000) was hailed by French critics and compared to The 400 Blows (1959). In 2003, Pitts presented his controversial feature ...
Argo
71. Jay Roach
Director | Trumbo
Jay Roach was born on June 14, 1957 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA. He is a producer and director, known for Trumbo (2015), Bombshell (2019) and Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997). He has been married to Susanna Hoffs since April 17, 1993. They have two children.
Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me Meet the Parents Borat: Cultural Learnings of American for Making Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan Trumbo
72. Tarsem Singh
Director | The Fall
Indian director Tarsem Singh is the son of an aircraft engineer. He was educated at Bishop Cotton Boy's School in Shimla and relocated to the USA to study business at Harvard and, significantly, film studies at the Art Center College of Design in California. Upon graduating he embarked on a career ...
The Cell The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Mirror Mirror
73. Paul Michael Glaser
Actor | Starsky and Hutch
Paul Michael Glaser (born Paul Manfred Glaser March 25, 1943) is an American actor and director best known for his role as Detective Dave Starsky on the 1970s television series, Starsky & Hutch. In between his work writing and directing, Glaser also played Captain Jack Steeper on the NBC series ...
Fiddler on the Roof Butterflies Are Free Something's Gotta Give
74. George A. Romero
Writer | Land of the Dead
George A. Romero never set out to become a Hollywood figure; by all indications, though, he was very successful. The director of the groundbreaking "Living Dead" films was born February 4, 1940 ,in New York City to Ann (Dvorsky) and Jorge Romero. His father was born in Spain and raised in Cuba, and...
North by Northwest The Silence of the Lambs
75. Paul Bartel
Actor | Eating Raoul
Paul Bartel was born in Brooklyn in 1938. He decided he wanted to direct animated movies when he was 11 and by 13 had spent a summer working at New York's UPA animation studio. He majored in theater arts at UCLA, and received a Fulbright scholarship to study film direction in Rome, producing a ...
Heartbeeps Heart Like a Wheel The Usual Suspects
76. Rodrigo García
Writer | Nine Lives
Rodrigo García was born on August 24, 1959 in Bogotá, Colombia. He is a producer and writer, known for Nine Lives (2005), Mother and Child (2009) and In Treatment (2008).
21 Grams Babel Biutiful Albert Nobbs Birdman
77. Robert Rodriguez
Producer | El mariachi
Robert Anthony Rodriguez was born and raised in San Antonio, Texas, USA, to Rebecca (Villegas), a nurse, and Cecilio G. Rodríguez, a salesman. His family is of Mexican descent.
Of all the people to be amazed by the images of John Carpenter's 1981 sci-fi parable, Escape from New York (1981), none ...
Pulp Fiction
78. Kevin Smith
Producer | Clerks
Kevin Patrick Smith was born in Red Bank but grew up in Highlands, New Jersey, the son of Grace (Schultz) and Donald E. Smith, a postal worker. He is very proud of his native state; this fact can be seen in all of his movies. Kevin is of mostly German, with some Irish and English, ancestry.
His ...
Good Will Hunting Gone Baby Gone
79. Peter MacDonald
Director | Rambo III
Peter MacDonald was born on June 20, 1939 in Willesden, London, England, UK. He is an assistant director and director, known for Rambo III (1988), Six Days of Sistine (2019) and Legionnaire (1998).
2001: A Space Odyssey Cabaret Murder on the Orient Express Superman Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back Dragonslayer Excalibur Ragtime Yentl Rambo: First Blood Part II Legend Cry Freedom Batman Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire The Bourne Ultimatum The Golden Compass Guardians of the Galaxy
80. Wash Westmoreland
Director | Still Alice
Hailing from Leeds, England, Westmoreland earned his college degree in Politics at the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and soon after moved to America to pursue filmmaking. His 2014 film, "Still Alice," starring Julianne Moore, Kristen Stewart, Alec Baldwin and Kate Bosworth, saw Moore win ...
Velvet Goldmine Still Alice
81. Richard Glatzer
Writer | Still Alice
Richard Glatzer was born on January 28, 1952 in Flushing, Queens, New York City, New York, USA. He was a producer and writer, known for Still Alice (2014), Quinceañera (2006) and Colette (2018). He was married to Wash Westmoreland. He died on March 10, 2015 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
Still Alice
82. Christopher Guest
Actor | This Is Spinal Tap
U.S.-born actor, director, writer, musician, and composer best known for his mockumentaries, poking fun at heavy metal music, small town theatre, dog shows, folk music and film-making itself, Christopher Haden-Guest was born February fifth, 1948, in New York City. His mother, Jean Pauline (Hindes),...
The Hospital The Hot Rock Heartbeeps The Princess Bride Little Shop of Horrors A Few Good Men A Mighty Wind Mrs Henderson Presents The 84th Academy Awards
83. Raja Gosnell
Director | Big Momma's House
Raja Gosnell started his film career as an assistant editor in the late 1970s. His first credit as a film's main editor was the romantic comedy "The Lonely Guy" (1984), for director Arthur Hiller. During the 1980s, Gosnell served as editor in films directed by Tom Laughlin, David Worth, Bob Dahlin,...
Good Morning, Vietnam Pretty Woman Home Alone Mrs. Doubtfire
84. Luis Mandoki
Director | Voces inocentes
Luis Mandoki was born on August 17, 1954 in Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico. He is a director and producer, known for Innocent Voices (2004), Angel Eyes (2001) and Trapped (2002).
Gaby: A True Story Amores Perros
85. Tom Tykwer
Writer | Lola rennt
Director, writer, producer and composer Tom Tykwer was born in 1965 in Wuppertal, Germany. He showed an interest in film-making from childhood, making super 8 films from the age of 11. Among his first jobs was working at a local art-house cinema. Tykwer eventually relocated to Berlin, first working...
Downfall Inglourious Basterds Pina Citizenfour
86. Mario Van Peebles
Actor | How to Get the Man's Foot Outta Your Ass
Mario Van Peebles is a highly regarded director, actor, producer and writer. His directorial skills can be seen in the retelling of the epic mini-series "Roots" starring Forest Whitaker and Matthew Goode. Van Peebles has directed award-winning shows such as the recent hit "Empire" and "The Last ...
The Cotton Club Heartbreak Ridge Ali
87. David Twohy
Writer | The Fugitive
As both writer and director, David Twohy has contributed much to the film world, helping to elevate movies in such a way that Entertainment Weekly was prompted to name him "one of the 100 most creative people in Hollywood." In his career, Twohy has worked with on-screen notables like Harrison Ford,...
The Fugitive Waterworld
88. Andrew Davis
Director | The Fugitive
Director/Producer/Writer) Andrew Davis is a filmmaker with a reputation for directing intelligent thrillers, most notably the Academy Award-nominated box-office hit The Fugitive (1993), starring Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones. The film received seven Academy Award nominations including Best ...
Under Siege The Fugitive
89. Don Siegel
Director | Dirty Harry
Don Siegel was educated at Cambridge University, England. In Hollywood from the mid-'30s, he began his career as an editor and second unit director. In 1945 he directed two shorts (Hitler Lives (1945) and Star in the Night (1945)) which both won Academy Awards. His first feature as a director was ...
Sergeant York Yankee Doodle Dandy Casablanca Mission to Moscow Action in the North Atlantic This Is the Army Star in the Night Hitler Lives Saratoga Trunk All the King's Men The Shootist Unforgiven
90. Gareth Evans
Writer | Serbuan maut
Welsh born writer/director, in 2003 directed a short film "Samurai Monogatari" telling the tale of a Samurai waiting to be executed. The short was in Japanese language and starred students from Tokyo who were studying at Cardiff University at the time.
In 2003 he also graduated with an MA in ...
The Act of Killing
91. Steven Seagal
Actor | On Deadly Ground
Steven Frederic Seagal was born in Lansing, Michigan, to Patricia Anne (Fisher), a medical technician, and Samuel Seagal, a high school math teacher. His paternal grandparents were Russian Jewish immigrants, and his mother had English, German, and distant Irish and Dutch, ancestry. The enigmatic ...
Under Siege
92. Jack Starrett
Actor | First Blood
Jack Starrett was a superbly talented and versatile actor and director who specialized in making hugely enjoyable down-'n'-dirty low-budget drive-in exploitation pictures. Starrett was born on November 2, 1936, in Refugio, TX. He attended San Marcos Academy in the 1940s and the 1950s. He made his ...
Blazing Saddles The Rose The River
93. John Guillermin
Director | The Towering Inferno
John Guillermin was born on November 11, 1925 in London, England, UK. He was a director and writer, known for The Towering Inferno (1974), Death on the Nile (1978) and King Kong (1976). He was married to Maureen Connell and Mary Guillermin. He died on September 27, 2015 in Topanga Canyon, ...
The Towering Inferno King Kong (1976 film) Death on the Nile
94. Ted Demme
Director | Blow
Ted Demme was born on October 26, 1963 in New York City, New York, USA. He was a director and producer, known for Blow (2001), Beautiful Girls (1996) and A Decade Under the Influence (2003). He was married to Amanda Scheer-Demme. He died on January 13, 2002 in Santa Monica, California, USA.
Tumbleweeds Life
95. Kasi Lemmons
Actress | The Silence of the Lambs
Kasi Lemmons was born on February 24, 1961 in St. Louis, Missouri, USA. She is an actress and director, known for The Silence of the Lambs (1991), Harriet (2019) and Candyman (1992). She has been married to Vondie Curtis-Hall since August 19, 1995. They have two children.
The Silence of the Lambs
96. Tobe Hooper
Director | The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
Honored with many awards for his films and achievement in the horror genre, Tobe Hooper is truly one of the Masters of Horror (2005).
Tobe Hooper was born in Austin, Texas, to Lois Belle (Crosby) and Norman William Ray Hooper, who owned a theater in San Angelo. He spent the 1960s as a college ...
Poltergeist
97. Wes Craven
Writer | A Nightmare on Elm Street
Wes Craven has become synonymous with genre bending and innovative horror, challenging audiences with his bold vision.
Wesley Earl Craven was born in Cleveland, Ohio, to Caroline (Miller) and Paul Eugene Craven. He had a midwestern suburban upbringing. His first feature film was The Last House on ...
Music of the Heart
98. Donald Petrie
Director | How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
Donald Petrie was born on April 2, 1954 in New York City, New York, USA. He is a director and actor, known for How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (2003), Miss Congeniality (2000) and Grumpy Old Men (1993).
The Turning Point
99. Dick Powell
Actor | Murder, My Sweet
Few actors ever managed a complete image transition as thoroughly as did Dick Powell: in his case, from the boyish, wavy-haired crooner in musicals to rugged crime fighters in film noirs. Powell grew up in the town of Little Rock, Arkansas, one of three brothers (one of them, Howard, ended up as ...
42nd Street Gold Diggers of 1933 Flirtation Walk Gold Diggers of 1935 A Midsummer Night's Dream Thanks a Million Gold Diggers of 1937 It Happened Tomorrow The Bad and the Beautiful The Enemy Below Paper Moon A.I. Artificial Intelligence
100. Harold Prince
Harold Prince was born on January 30, 1928 in New York City, New York, USA. He was a director and writer, known for West Side Story (1961), The Phantom of the Opera (2004) and Cabaret (1972). He was married to Judith Arlene Chaplin. He died on July 31, 2019 in Reykjavik, Iceland.
Damn Yankees! West Side Story A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum Fiddler on the Roof Cabaret A Little Night Music The Phantom of the Opera
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