GEORGE STEVENS
Name: George Stevens
Born: 18 December 1904 Oakland, California
Died: 8 March 1975 Lancaster, California
George Stevens (December 18, 1904 - March 8, 1975) was an Academy Award-winning
American motion picture director, producer, writer and cinematographer.
Born in Oakland, California, Stevens broke into the movie business as a
cameraman, working on many Laurel and Hardy shorts. 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 the US had not yet entered.
During the Second World War, Stevens' crew captured the only Allied European
Front color film of the war, in addition to filming the graphic scenes at the
Dachau concentration camp. As a result of his experiences, his films became more
dramatic following the war. I Remember Mama in 1948 was the last movie with
comic scenes that he made. He was responsible for such classic films as A Place
in the Sun, Shane, The Diary of Anne Frank, Giant and The Greatest Story Ever
Told. Stevens has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1701 Vine Street.
Stevens died after a heart attack on his ranch in Lancaster, California.
Name: George Stevens
Born: 18 December 1904 Oakland, California
Died: 8 March 1975 Lancaster, California
George Stevens (December 18, 1904 - March 8, 1975) was an Academy Award-winning
American motion picture director, producer, writer and cinematographer.
Born in Oakland, California, Stevens broke into the movie business as a
cameraman, working on many Laurel and Hardy shorts. 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 the US had not yet entered.
During the Second World War, Stevens' crew captured the only Allied European
Front color film of the war, in addition to filming the graphic scenes at the
Dachau concentration camp. As a result of his experiences, his films became more
dramatic following the war. I Remember Mama in 1948 was the last movie with
comic scenes that he made. He was responsible for such classic films as A Place
in the Sun, Shane, The Diary of Anne Frank, Giant and The Greatest Story Ever
Told. Stevens has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1701 Vine Street.
Stevens died after a heart attack on his ranch in Lancaster, California.