Charlotte Zwerin

Charlotte Zwerin (born August 15, 1931 in Detroit , Michigan , † January 22, 2004 in Manhattan , New York ), née Mitchell , was an American filmmaker . She documented the life and work of well-known artists in her films. B. Thelonious Monk , Arshile Gorky , the Rolling Stones and other artists.

Life

She was born Charlotte Mitchell in Detroit, Michigan, the youngest of five children. Her interest in documentaries was awakened while attending Wayne State University in the 1950s. She specialized early on in documenting the life and work of artists.

One of her early works was the 1963 documentary Robert Frost: A Lover's Quarrel with the World. Winning the Oscars showed that she had chosen the right field. This was followed by documentaries on Arshile Gorky , Ella Fitzgerald ("Something to Live For"), Willem de Kooning , Isamu Noguchi and Toru Takemitsu .

Charlotte Zwerin was a master of "cinéma verité" , films with extreme closeness to reality . Your film about the Rolling Stones concert in Altamont, " Gimme Shelter ", was known for portraying a drastic scene: when 18-year-old Meredith Hunter was stabbed to death in front of the camera by a member of the Hells Angels who worked as security at the concert has been. One of her famous late works was the film Thelonious Monk: Straight, No Chaser , produced by Clint Eastwood and Bruce Ricker , a portrait of the troubled pianist and composer.

Before her divorce, she was married to jazz musician and critic Mike Zwerin .

Charlotte Zwerin died of lung cancer in New York on January 22, 2004 .

Web links

• Charlotte Zwerin in the Internet Movie Database (English)