{{Short description|American director (1927–2023)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Infobox person | name = Elliot Silverstein | birth_date = {{birth date|1927|8|3}} | birth_place = Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|2023|11|24|1927|8|3}} | death_place = Los Angeles, California, U.S. | occupation = Director | years_active = 1954–1994 | notable_works = ''Cat Ballou''<br>''The Happening''<br>''A Man Called Horse'' | spouse = {{plainlist| * {{marriage|Evelyn Ward|1962|1968|end=divorced}} * {{marriage|Alana King|||end=divorced}} }} }}
'''Elliot Silverstein''' (August 3, 1927 – November 24, 2023) was an American film and television director. He directed the Academy Award-winning western comedy ''Cat Ballou'' (1965), and other films including ''The Happening'' (1967), ''A Man Called Horse'' (1970), ''Nightmare Honeymoon'' (1974), and ''The Car'' (1977). His television work includes four episodes of ''The Twilight Zone'' (1961–1964).
==Career== Silverstein was born in Boston on August 3, 1927;<ref name=TCM>{{cite web |title=Elliot Silverstein |url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/177682%7C46847/Elliot-Silverstein |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111206184935/http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/177682%7C46847/Elliot-Silverstein/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 6, 2011 |website=Turner Classic Movies |access-date=September 16, 2022}}</ref> he was raised in Dorchester.<ref name="THR"/> The son of a doctor, he initially pursued study at Boston College in biology but changed his major to drama.
Elliot Silverstein was the director of six feature films in the mid-twentieth century. The most famous of these by far is ''Cat Ballou'', a comedy-western starring Jane Fonda and Lee Marvin.
The other Silverstein films, in chronological order, are ''The Happening'', ''A Man Called Horse'', ''Nightmare Honeymoon'', ''The Car'', and ''Flashfire''.
Other work included directing for the television shows ''The Twilight Zone'', ''The Nurses'', ''Picket Fences'', and ''Tales from the Crypt''.
While Silverstein was not a prolific director, his films were often decorated. ''Cat Ballou'', for instance, earned one Academy Award and was nominated for four more. It was his experiences with not being able to make his own cut when filming an episode on television that spurred him to push for a "director's cut". He urged Directors Guild of America president George Sidney to make a committee in late 1963 to meet up about the matter, which Silverstein chaired that included members such as Robert Altman and Sydney Pollack. The "Bill of Creative Rights" stated the following: "The arrangement of the recorded images and sounds in a relationship the Director considers proper shall be known as the ‘Director’s Cut. It is the Director’s creative right and obligation to prepare this cut, and he must be given the time he deems necessary to fulfill this function.” In the fall of 1964, the Bill of Creative Rights was included in the new DGA contract with producers.
==Personal life and death== Silverstein was married three times, each ending in divorce. His first marriage was to Evelyn Ward in 1962; the couple divorced in 1968. His second marriage was to Alana King. During his first marriage, he was the stepfather of David Cassidy.
Silverstein lived in North Hollywood, Los Angeles. Actively retired, Silverstein had taught film at USC and continued to work on screenplays and other projects. He died in Los Angeles on November 24, 2023, at the age of 96.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/name/elliot-silverstein-obituary?id=53675323 |title=Elliot Silverstein Obituary |date=November 25, 2023 |website=Legacy.com |access-date=November 27, 2023}}</ref><ref name="THR">{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/elliot-silverstein-dead-cat-ballou-1235679761/|title=Elliot Silverstein, Director of 'Cat Ballou' and 'A Man Called Horse,' Dies at 96|website=The Hollywood Reporter|date=November 27, 2023|access-date=November 27, 2023}}</ref>
==Awards== In 1965, at the 15th Berlin International Film Festival, he won the Youth Film Award – Honorable Mention, in the category of Best Feature Film Suitable for Young People for ''Cat Ballou''. He was also nominated for the Golden Berlin Bear.<ref name="berlinale 1965">{{cite web |url=http://www.berlinale.de/en/archiv/jahresarchive/1965/03_preistr_ger_1965/03_Preistraeger_1965.html |title=Berlinale 1965: Prize Winners |access-date=February 28, 2010 |work=berlinale.de}}</ref>
In 1966, he was nominated for the DGA Award in the category for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures (''Cat Ballou'').
In 1971, he won the Bronze Wrangler award at the Western Heritage Awards in the category of Theatrical Motion Picture for ''A Man Called Horse'', along with producer Sandy Howard, writer Jack DeWitt, and actors Judith Anderson, Jean Gascon, Corinna Tsopei and Richard Harris.<ref name=wha-1971>[https://www.imdb.com/Sections/Awards/Western_Heritage_Awards/1971 "Western Heritage Awards: 1971"] – IMDb (Retrieved on May 17, 2008)</ref>
In 1985, he won the Robert B. Aldrich Achievement Award from the Directors Guild of America.
In 1990, he was awarded the DGA Honorary Life Member Award.
==Filmography== {{div col}} *''Flashfire'' (1994) *''Tales from the Crypt'' (TV series) (1991–94) *''Picket Fences'' (TV series) (1993) *''Rich Men, Single Women'' (TV movie) (1990) *''Fight for Life'' (TV movie) (1987) *''Night of Courage'' (TV movie) (1987) *''Betrayed by Innocence'' (TV movie) (1986) *''The Firm'' (TV series) (1982–1983) *''The Car'' (1977) *''Nightmare Honeymoon'' (1974) *''A Man Called Horse'' (1970) *''The Happening'' (1967) *''Cat Ballou'' (1965) *''Kraft Suspense Theatre'' (TV series) (1963–64) *''The Defenders'' (TV series) (1962–64) *''Arrest and Trial'' (TV series) (1964) *''The Doctors and the Nurses'' (TV series) (1962–64) *''Twilight Zone'' (TV series) (1961–64) *''Breaking Point'' (TV series) (1963) *''Dr. Kildare'' (TV series) (1961–63) *''The Dick Powell Theatre'' (TV series) (1962) *''Belle Sommers'' (TV movie) (1962) *''Naked City'' (TV series) (1961–62) *''Have Gun - Will Travel'' (TV series) (1961) *''Route 66'' (TV series) (1960–61) *''Checkmate'' (TV series) (1961) *''The Westerner'' (TV series) (1960) *''Assignment: Underwater'' (TV series) (1960) *''Black Saddle'' (TV series) (1960) *''Suspicion'' (TV series) (1958) *''Omnibus'' (TV series) (1954–56) {{div col end}}
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *{{IMDb name|0799033}} *[http://www.dga.org/Craft/VisualHistory/Interviews/Elliot-Silverstein.aspx?Filter=Full%20Interview Career interview with Elliot Silverstein] at Directors Guild of America {{Elliot Silverstein}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Silverstein, Elliot}} Category:1927 births Category:2023 deaths Category:American television directors Category:Artists from Boston Category:University of Southern California faculty Category:Boston College alumni Category:People from Studio City, Los Angeles Category:Film directors from Los Angeles