Mike Gray
Michael "Mike" Gray (October 26, 1935 – April 30, 2013)[1] was a writer, screenwriter, cinematographer, film producer and director.
Contents |
Career [edit]
Film and TV [edit]
In 1965, Mike Gray and Jim Dennett co-founded "The Film Group", a Chicago film production company. In 1968, the pair along with Howard Alk produced the award winning cult classic,[citation needed] documentary American Revolution 2 (1969), followed by the trio's The Murder of Fred Hampton (1971). After moving to California, Gray shot The Gift (1973), a documentary about the life and art of Marc Chagall. Gray then co-wrote with T. S. Cook and James Bridges the screenplay for the 1979 nuclear thriller The China Syndrome (1979), a film which became notable for opening twelve days before the Three Mile Island reactor meltdown. He also wrote and directed Wavelength (1983), an independent science fiction film starring Robert Carradine, Cherie Currie, and Keenan Wynn, with a soundtrack by Tangerine Dream.
Gray next co-created the television series Starman (1986-87). Following Starman, he became series writer/producer for the 1988-89 season of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Gray was a second unit director on The Fugitive (1993) and acted as Swizlard in Chain Reaction (1996). Gray scripted "The Zone" and "Forget about Yesterday" in 2008 and was working with director Andy Davis and legendary film maker, Haskell Wexler on an as yet untitled documentary.
Books [edit]
Gray's books include: "The Warning," about the accident at Three Mile Island (1982); "Drug Crazy: how we got into this mess and how we can get out" (1998); "Angle of Attack," the biography of Harrison Storms and the true story of America's race to the moon (1992); "The Death Game: the luck of the draw" (2003); and "Busted," a book about the country's drug war (2004).
Personal life [edit]
He lived in Los Angeles, California with his wife, Carol, a reporter for public radio. He died in his sleep April 30, 2013. His son, Lucas, is a storyboard artist for The Simpsons.
References [edit]
- ^ "Mike Gray dies at 77; co-wrote 'China Syndrome' screenplay". Los Angeles Times. May 2, 2013. Retrieved 2013-05-03.
