George Stevens

George Stevens (December 18, 1904 – March 8, 1975) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter and cinematographer.

Among his most notable films are A Place in the Sun (1951; winner of six Academy Awards including Best Director), Shane (1953; Oscar nominated), Giant (1956; Oscar for Best Director), and The Diary of Anne Frank (1959; nominated for Best Director).

Biography

Film career

He was born in Oakland, California, and his family included his father Landers Stevens and his mother Georgie Cooper, both stage actors. His uncle was drama critic Ashton Stevens. He also had two brothers, Jack and writer Aston Stevens. He learned about the stage from his parents and worked and toured with them on his path to filmmaking. He broke into the movie business as a cameraman, working on many Laurel and Hardy short films, such as Night Owls (1930). His first feature film was The Cohens and Kellys in Trouble in 1933.

In 1934 he got his first directing job, the slapstick Kentucky Kernels. His big break came when he directed Katharine Hepburn in Alice Adams in 1935. He went on in the late 1930s to direct several Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire movies, not only with the two actors together, but on their own. In 1940, he directed Carole Lombard in Vigil in the Night, and the film has an alternate ending for European audiences in recognition of World War II, which at the time the U.S. had not yet entered.

George Stevens (disambiguation)

George Stevens (1904–1975) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter and cinematographer.

George Stevens may also refer to:

George Stevens (jockey)

George Stevens (12 June 1833, Cheltenham – 2 June 1871, Cleeve Hill) was an English jockey, famous for having the most wins in the Grand National.

Stevens began his riding career at the age of 16 or 17. He rode Hardwick to victory in the Grand Annual steeple chase at Wolverhampton in 1851. From the beginning of 1848 to the end of 1870 he won 76 races. He rode 5 Grand National winners: Freetrader, 1856; Emblem 1863; Emblematic, 1864; The Colonel, 1869, 1870. He died on June 2, 1871 after suffering a skull fracture the previous day; his horse stumbled and threw him after bolting as Stevens was quietly riding home to his cottage on Cleeve Hill.

References