Peter Bogdanovich, the director who helped shape the New Hollywood landscape of the 1970's, has died aged 82.
The critic turned director was a major part of the 1970's Hollywood landscape that launched the careers of Steven Spielberg, Francis Ford Copolla and Martin Scorsese, and his 1971 film 'The Last Picture Show' is credited with launching the career of Oscar winner Jeff Bridges.
'The Last Picture Show' won Oscars for stars Ben Johnson and Cloris Leachman in the Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress category, while Bogdonavich himself was nominated in the Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay categories.
Bogdanovich's biggest commercial success was the 1972 comedy What's Up, Doc?" and followed up the film with 1973's 'Paper Moon' which won it's 10-year-old star Tatum O'Neal an Oscar.
Bogdanovich's career went into decline shortly thereafter, with 'At Long Last Love' and 'Nickelodeon' proving to be either critical or commercial failures.
The director later pivoted towards acting, most notably playing Jennifer's therapist in 15 episodes of 'The Sopranos' and making a cameo as himself in 2019's 'It Chapter Two'.
The director won a Grammy for directing the 2007 Tom Petty documentary film 'Runnin' Down A Dream'.
His final film was 2014's 'She's Funny That Way' which starred the likes of Jennifer Aniston, Owen Wilson, Kathryn Hahn, and long-time romantic partner Cybil Shepherd.
In a 1971 interview with The New York Times, Bogdanovich discussed his reputation within the industry.
"I don’t judge myself on the basis of my contemporaries, I judge myself against the directors I admire — Hawks, Lubitsch, Buster Keaton, Welles, Ford, Renoir, Hitchcock. I certainly don’t think I’m anywhere near as good as they are, but I think I’m pretty good.”
Directors as varied as Quentin Tarantino, Edgar Wright, David Fincher, Sofia Coppola and Wes Anderson cited the director as an influence on their work as directors.
