About Me
[A Tribute By
Carletto di San Giovanni:]
myspace.com/giancarletto
www.directorspotlight.com
George Stevens (December 18, 1904 - March 8, 1975) was an 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.During World War II, his 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 is the father of TV and film writer, producer, and director George Stevens, Jr. (founder of the American Film Institute), and the grandfather of TV and film producer and director Michael Stevens.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.
