Stuart Rosenberg, 1927 - 2007.

Stuart Rosenberg, a prolific director of episodic television who is best known for directing the 1967 film Cool Hand Luke has died. He was 79....

Rosenberg began directing television episodes in the 1950s for such dramatic series as The Defenders, The Untouchables, Naked City, The Twilight Zone and Bus Stop. He racked up more than 300 TV directing credits and won an Emmy Award in 1963 for an episode of The Defenders. But after completing his first feature film - Cool Hand Luke - he never went back to the small screen.

Claire Noland in the Los Angeles Times.

Update, 3/19: Though he made "movies as diverse as The Laughing Policeman, Pocket Money, The Drowning Pool and The Pope of Greenwich Village," notes Joe Leydon, "Sometimes, all you need to do is make one movie to ensure your immortality."

Updates, 3/21: Dave Kehr in the New York Times.

Ronald Bergan in the Guardian: "Hollywood great Paul Newman, one of the screen's longest survivors, should know a thing or two about movies. The fact that he chose to star in four films directed by Stuart Rosenberg can only be a tribute to the director."

Posted by dwhudson at March 18, 2007 7:49 AM