# August Coppola > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/August_Coppola > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/August_Coppola.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_Coppola > Source revision: 1356598763 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|American academic (1934–2009)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=December 2023}} {{infobox person | name = August Coppola | image = AugustCoppola.jpg | birth_name = August Floyd Coppola | birth_date = {{Birth date|1934|02|16}} | birth_place = [Hartford, Connecticut](/source/Hartford%2C_Connecticut), U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|2009|10|27|1934|02|16}} | death_place = [Los Angeles](/source/Los_Angeles), [California](/source/California), U.S. | occupation = Educator, author, film executive | alma_mater = {{plainlist| *[UCLA](/source/UCLA) *[Hofstra University](/source/Hofstra_University) *[Occidental College](/source/Occidental_College)}} | spouse = {{plainlist| *{{marriage|Joy Vogelsang|1960|1976|end=divorced}} *{{marriage|Marie Thenevin|1981|1986|end=divorced}} *{{marriage|Martine Chevallier|1996}}}} | children = {{hlist|[Marc](/source/Marc_Coppola_(actor))|[Christopher](/source/Christopher_Coppola)|[Nicolas](/source/Nicolas_Cage)}} | father = [Carmine Coppola](/source/Carmine_Coppola) | mother = [Italia Pennino](/source/Italia_Pennino) | family = [Coppola family](/source/Coppola_family) }} '''August Floyd Coppola''' (February 16, 1934 – October 27, 2009) was an American academic, author, film executive, and member of the [Coppola family](/source/Coppola_family). ==Early life and family== August Coppola was the son of composer and flautist [Carmine Coppola](/source/Carmine_Coppola) (1910–1991) and [Italia Pennino](/source/Italia_Pennino) (1912–2004), a lyricist and matriarch of the [Coppola family](/source/Coppola_family_tree). His uncle was composer [Anton Coppola](/source/Anton_Coppola). His siblings are film director [Francis Ford Coppola](/source/Francis_Ford_Coppola) and actress [Talia Shire](/source/Talia_Shire). Among his nieces and nephews are director [Sofia Coppola](/source/Sofia_Coppola) and actor [Jason Schwartzman](/source/Jason_Schwartzman). His children are actor [Nicolas Cage](/source/Nicolas_Cage), radio DJ [Marc Coppola](/source/Marc_Coppola_(actor)), and director [Christopher Coppola](/source/Christopher_Coppola). ==Education and work== Coppola received an undergraduate degree at [UCLA](/source/University_of_California%2C_Los_Angeles) and a graduate degree at [Hofstra University](/source/Hofstra_University), from which his thesis, ''[Ernest Hemingway](/source/Ernest_Hemingway): The Problem of [In Our Time](/source/In_Our_Time_(short_story_collection))'', was published in 1956. He earned his doctorate at [Occidental College](/source/Occidental_College) in 1960. Coppola taught [comparative literature](/source/comparative_literature) at [Cal State Long Beach](/source/Cal_State_Long_Beach) in the 1960s and '70s and served as a trustee of the [California State University](/source/California_State_University) system before moving to San Francisco in 1984. He then served as [Dean](/source/Dean_(education)) of Creative Arts at [San Francisco State University](/source/San_Francisco_State_University). In that role, he earned a reputation for championing the arts on the campus and in the community and for promoting diversity within the student body of the arts school.{{cn|date=April 2025}} Coppola also worked in film like many other members of his family. He was an executive at [American Zoetrope](/source/American_Zoetrope), his brother Francis Ford Coppola's film studio, where he was involved in reviving [Abel Gance](/source/Abel_Gance)'s [''Napoléon''](/source/Napol%C3%A9on_(1927_film)) with a new score by his father.[http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-august-coppola30-2009oct30,0,1538527.story "August Coppola dies at 75"], latimes.com. October 30, 2009. Coppola founded and presided over the San Francisco Film and Video Arts Commission{{Cite web|url=https://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/SFSU-names-screening-room-after-ex-dean-Coppola-3100234.php|title=SFSU names screening room after ex-dean Coppola|first1=Jane|last1=Ganahl|date=September 17, 1997|website=SFGate}} and, in 1986, served on the jury of the [36th Berlin International Film Festival](/source/36th_Berlin_International_Film_Festival){{cite web |url=http://www.berlinale.de/en/archiv/jahresarchive/1986/04_jury_1986/04_Jury_1986.html |title=Berlinale: 1986 Juries |access-date=January 14, 2011 |work=berlinale.de}} He also held the positions of chairman and CEO of Education First!, an organization dedicated to seeking Hollywood studio support for educational programs. Coppola also advocated for art appreciation among the [visually impaired](/source/visually_impaired). He is credited as the creator of the [Tactile Dome](/source/Exploratorium)—a lightless maze that requires visitors to pass through using only the sense of touch—at the San Francisco [Exploratorium](/source/Exploratorium).{{Cite web|url=https://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/WHERE-ARE-THEY-NOW-August-Coppola-Writes-2916664.php|title=WHERE ARE THEY NOW? / August Coppola Writes Quietly in Savannah|first1=Mick|last1=LaSalle|date=August 1, 1999|website=SFGate}} In 1972, Coppola opened the AudioVision Workshop with colleague Gregory Frazier, which employed Frazier's process of [audio recording](/source/audio_recording) descriptions of film and theater action for the benefit of visually impaired audiences.{{Cite web|url=https://www.sfgate.com/education/article/August-Coppola-arts-educator-dies-at-75-3282007.php|title=August Coppola, arts educator, dies at 75|first=Nanette|last=Asimov|date=November 4, 2009|website=SFGate}} Additionally, Coppola authored the romantic novel ''The Intimacy'' in 1978. ==Personal life == Coppola married German-American dancer Joy Vogelsang (1935–2021) in 1960.Daniel S. Levine: [https://popculture.com/celebrity/news/joy-vogelsang-nicolas-cage-mom-dead-85/ ''Joy Vogelsang, Nicolas Cage's Mom, Dead at 85''], [PopCulture.com](/source/PopCulture.com), June 20, 2021 They had three sons: [Marc](/source/Marc_Coppola_(actor)), [Christopher](/source/Christopher_Coppola), and [Nicolas](/source/Nicolas_Cage).{{Cite news|url=https://archive.boston.com/bostonglobe/obituaries/articles/2009/11/03/august_coppola_professor_directors_sibling/|title=August Coppola, professor, director's sibling|first=Claire|last=Noland|date=November 3, 2009|via=The Boston Globe|newspaper=Boston.com}} Coppola and Vogelsang divorced in 1976; she died in 2021. He married Marie Thenevin on April 16, 1981. That marriage ended in 1986. His last marriage was to [Martine Chevallier](/source/Martine_Chevallier), an actress with the [Comédie-Française](/source/Com%C3%A9die-Fran%C3%A7aise) in Paris. Coppola's final home was in [Los Angeles](/source/Los_Angeles), where he died of a heart attack on October 27, 2009, at age 75. ==Legacy== The 150-seat August Coppola Theater on the San Francisco State University campus is named in his honor.{{Cite web|url=http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1692024/bio|title=August Coppola|website=IMDb}} Francis Ford Coppola dedicated his 1983 film ''[Rumble Fish](/source/Rumble_Fish)'' to him.{{cite book |last1=Phillips |first1=Gene D. |title=Godfather: The Intimate Francis Ford Coppola |date=2014 |publisher=University Press of Kentucky |page=214 |isbn=9780813146713 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6XBHAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA214}} Nicolas Cage partially based his idea for the film [''The Sorcerer's Apprentice''](/source/The_Sorcerer's_Apprentice_(2010_film)) (2010) and his character Balthazar on his father August Coppola.{{cite news |last1=Wei |first1=Liu |title=Cage feels the magic in ''The Sorcerer's Apprentice'' |url=http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2010-09/10/content_11283173.htm |access-date=July 11, 2020 |work=[China Daily](/source/China_Daily) |date=September 10, 2010}}{{cite news |title=Nicolas Cage honors his father with 'Sorcerer's Apprentice' |url=https://www.dallasnews.com/arts-entertainment/architecture/2010/07/13/nicolas-cage-honors-his-father-with-sorcerer-s-apprentice/ |access-date=July 11, 2020 |work=[Dallas Morning News](/source/Dallas_Morning_News) |date=July 13, 2010}}{{cite news |last1=Lowman |first1=Rob |title=Cage's occult interests led to film |url=https://www.post-gazette.com/ae/movies/2010/07/14/Cage-s-occult-interests-led-to-film/stories/201007140222 |access-date=July 11, 2020 |work=[Pittsburgh Post-Gazette](/source/Pittsburgh_Post-Gazette) |date=July 14, 2010}} The closing credits read "With Memories of Dr. August Coppola".{{cite web |title=''The Sorcerer's Apprentice'': Credits |url=http://chicagoscifi.com/movies/0021/text/credits.pdf |website=ChicagoSciFi.com |access-date=July 11, 2020}} ==See also== *[Coppola family tree](/source/Coppola_family_tree) ==References== {{reflist}} ==External links== *{{IMDb name|1692024}} {{Coppola family}} {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Coppola, August}} Category:1934 births Category:2009 deaths Category:California State University, Long Beach, faculty Category:American male writers Category:American writers of Italian descent August Category:Hofstra University alumni Category:Occidental College alumni Category:People from Greater Los Angeles Category:San Francisco State University faculty Category:University of California, Los Angeles alumni Category:Writers from Hartford, Connecticut --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [August Coppola](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_Coppola) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_Coppola?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.