James R. Messenger

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James Robert Messenger (born September 4, 1948 in Miami , Florida , United States - † April 21, 2015 in Marietta , Georgia ) was an American documentary filmmaker .

Live and act

Messenger attended high school until 1966 and was already active as an artist while at school, for example when he took part in a performance of the musical Die Romanticker ( The Fantasticks ). After graduating from high school, Messenger worked in the technology and telephone industry - he was temporarily employed by Xerox and the telephone company AT&T - but, as a well-traveled man, showed great interest in the production of film documentaries. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Messenger produced or staged several short documentaries on exotic topics, for example about the Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun , Korean pottery and the tomb of a great love, the Indian Taj Mahal .

His 1977 debut Of Time, Tombs and Treasures received an Oscar nomination the following year , and his second work, Koryo Celadon , was nominated for the Academy Award. Messenger's last film, about the Taj Mahal, received an Emmy in 1982 . At this point, Messenger had also started writing non-fiction books. During his time with the American Telephone & Telegraph Company , Messenger also conceived the theoretical paper "The Theory of the Information Age" in 1982 about the enormous changes that the technological upheaval from the analogue to the digital age will bring with it. Messenger died of pancreatic cancer in 2015 .

Filmography (complete)

Short documentaries as screenwriter and producer, unless otherwise stated:

  • 1977: Of Time, Tombs and Treasures
  • 1979: Koryo Celadon
  • 1982: The Taj Mahal (also director)

Works (selection)

  • The Death of the American Telephone & Telegraph Company
  • How "Ma Bell" Died Giving Birth to the Information Age
  • The Book of Love - The Guidebook for Anyone Who Ever Wanted to Be in Love
  • If I Won the Nobel Prize
  • CATHARSIS - America at the Turn of the 21st Century

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Messenger, James R.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Messenger, James Robert (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American documentary filmmaker and writer
DATE OF BIRTH September 4, 1948
PLACE OF BIRTH Miami , Florida , United States
DATE OF DEATH April 21, 2015
Place of death Marietta , Georgia