Jump to content

Mark Rydell

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mark Rydell
Rydell in 1979
Born
Mortimer H. Rydell

(1929-03-23)March 23, 1929
New York City, U.S.
DiedAugust 13, 2026(2026-08-13) (aged 97)
Woodland Hills, California, U.S.
EducationJuilliard School of Music
Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre
Actors Studio
Occupations
  • Film director
  • producer
  • actor
Years active1952–2020
Spouses
​
​
(m. 1962; div. 1973)​
Esther Rydell
​
​
(m. 1984; div. 2007)​
Children3

Mortimer H. "Mark" Rydell (March 23, 1929 – August 13, 2026) was an American film director, producer and actor. He directed several Academy Award-nominated films including The Fox (1967), The Reivers (1969), Cinderella Liberty (1973), The Rose (1979), and The River (1984). He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Director for On Golden Pond (1981).

Early life

[edit]

Mortimer H. Rydell was born in New York City on March 23, 1929, to a Jewish family.[1][2] He initially trained in music.[3] As a youth, he wanted to be a conductor. He said he left music because of the proliferation of drugs among the musicians: "Heroin was the drug of choice. "Knowing that I have an addict's personality in that a little is good but a lot is better, I knew I was in danger... I went back to college and went to the Neighborhood Playhouse."[4]

Rydell attended the Juilliard School of Music in Manhattan and trained as an actor at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre and at the Actors Studio.[5]

Career

[edit]

Actor

[edit]

His first significant roles were as Walt Johnson on The Edge of Night, and as Jeff Baker on As the World Turns, which he played from December 12, 1956, to 1962. The role of Jeff was a particularly popular role with the audience.[6]

In 1962, Rydell declined to sign another long-term contract at ATWT, and producers had his character die in a car crash.[7][8] He later won plaudits for his role of violent Jewish mob kingpin Marty Augustine in Robert Altman's The Long Goodbye (1973). His last significant film role was in Woody Allen's Hollywood Ending (2002).[5]

Television director

[edit]
Rydell at the premiere of The Rose in November 1979

Rydell moved into being a director and soon became very successful. He did episodes of Mr. Novak; Ben Casey; The Reporter; Slattery's People; I Spy; The Wild Wild West; The Long, Hot Summer; and Gunsmoke.[4] He said later: "I come from the school of sitting around the table for two weeks examining every detail of the material, working out relationships with the actors, so they know what they are doing, bringing them to locations, so they can get comfortable."[4]

Feature films

[edit]

Rydell's first feature as director was The Fox (1967) which was a box-office hit, in part due to its then-rare lesbian content.[citation needed] He signed a multi-picture contract with the film's producer Raymond Stross, but disliked working with him.[citation needed] Rydell said he ended up paying out four times his fee for the picture to get out of the contract.[citation needed] Nonetheless, he credited Stross for starting his film career.[9] He directed Steve McQueen in The Reivers (1969).[citation needed] Rydell and friend Sydney Pollack, who had known each other since they were both actors,[citation needed] formed a company, Sanford Productions, and signed a six picture contract with the Mirisch Brothers.[10] They planned to make Good Luck, Miss Wyckoff, which was eventually made in 1979 by other filmmakers.[11][12]

Rydell in November 2008

Rydell directed John Wayne in The Cowboys (1972). He made a romantic comedy, Cinderella Liberty (1973), with James Caan and Marsha Mason.[citation needed] Around that time he said he did not want to make genre movies: "I want to create my own genre."[13] He was reunited with Caan on Harry and Walter Go to New York (1976) which starred Elliott Gould and was a box-office flop. Rydell also directed the pilot episode of Family (1976).[14]

Rydell directed The Rose (1979), starring Bette Midler, which was a huge hit.[15] So too was On Golden Pond (1981), starring Henry Fonda and Katharine Hepburn, for which Rydell received an Oscar nomination as Best Director. "I'm this week's heat", he joked at the time.[16] He was going to make a film based on the play Nuts but instead directed The River (1984), with Mel Gibson and Sissy Spacek.[17] It was not a commercial success.[citation needed] Neither was Rydell's next film, For the Boys (1991), with Caan and Midler.[citation needed]

He made the television movie McBride and Groom (1993)[citation needed] and the feature Intersection (1994).[citation needed] He directed the television movies Crime of the Century (1996), which starred Isabella Rossellini and Stephen Rea,[citation needed] and James Dean (2001),[citation needed] which earned actor James Franco a Golden Globe award.[citation needed] Rydell also acted in the movie, playing Jack L. Warner (head of Warner Bros).[citation needed] He was credited as executive producer on An Unfinished Life (2005).[citation needed]

In 2006, Rydell directed the movie Even Money.[citation needed] One of his last credits is an episode of Masters of Science Fiction, "A Clean Escape".[18] Working with actor Martin Landau and screenwriter/playwright Lyle Kessler in 2009, Rydell produced an education seminar, The Total Picture Seminar.[citation needed] The two-day event covers the disciplines of acting, directing, and writing for film.[citation needed] The three have worked together as a team for many decades at The Actors Studio teaching and coaching professional actors, writers, and directors.[citation needed] In 2010, Rydell joined the Advisory Board of Openfilm,[citation needed] which was an online video sharing site created to help aspiring independent filmmakers.[citation needed] Rydell executive produced the documentary A Coup in Camelot (2015).[citation needed]

Personal life and death

[edit]

Rydell and actress Joanne Linville married in 1962. They had two children, Amy and Christopher, both actors. They divorced in 1973.[19] Rydell had another son, Alexander, from a second marriage to documentary producer Esther Rydell. The union ended in divorce in 2007.[20]

Rydell died of natural causes at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, on August 13, 2026, at the age of 97.[21][5][20]

Filmography

[edit]

As director

[edit]

Film

[edit]

Television

[edit]

Unrealized

[edit]

As actor

[edit]

Accolades

[edit]
Year Film Academy Awards BAFTAs Golden Globes
Nominations Wins Nominations Wins Nominations Wins
1967 The Fox 1 4 1
1969 The Reivers 2 2
1973 Cinderella Liberty 3 5 1
1979 The Rose 4 2 5 3
1981 On Golden Pond 10 3 6 1 6 3
1984 The River 5 1 2
1991 For the Boys 1 2 1
Total 26 4 8 1 26 9

Directed Academy Award Performances

Under Rydell's direction, these actors have received Oscar nominations and wins for their performances of these respective roles.

Year Performer Film Result
Best Actor Oscar
1982 Henry Fonda On Golden Pond Won
Best Actress Oscar
1974 Marsha Mason Cinderella Liberty Nominated
1980 Bette Midler The Rose Nominated
1982 Katharine Hepburn On Golden Pond Won
1985 Sissy Spacek The River Nominated
1992 Bette Midler For the Boys Nominated
Best Supporting Actor Oscar
1970 Rupert Crosse The Reivers Nominated
1980 Frederic Forrest The Rose Nominated
Best Supporting Actress Oscar
1982 Jane Fonda On Golden Pond Nominated

References

[edit]
  1. ↑ Emery, Robert J. (2002). The Directors: Take One, Volume 1 (illustrated ed.). New York: Skyhorse Publishing Inc. p. 305. ISBN 9781581152180.
  2. ↑ Gallagher, John Andrew (1989). Film Directors on Directing (illustrated ed.). New York: ABC-CLIO. p. 209. ISBN 9780275932725.
  3. ↑ "Yari Film Group – Mark Rydell". www.yarifilmgroup.com. Archived from the original on July 30, 2021. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
  4. 1 2 3 Mark Rydell: On Acting, Directing and Woody: [HOME EDITION] King, Susan. Los Angeles Times; Los Angeles, Calif. [Los Angeles, Calif]May 1, 2002: F.1
  5. 1 2 3 Dagen, Carmel (August 14, 2026). "Mark Rydell, 'On Golden Pond' and 'The Rose' Director, Dies at 97". Variety. Retrieved August 14, 2026.
  6. ↑ "'As the World Turns' super couples". Newsday. September 16, 2010. Archived from the original on August 4, 2021.
  7. ↑ TV Guide June 29 – July 5, 1996 pg. 20.
  8. ↑ As the World Turns, Mark Rydell Is Doing Better Freeman, Alex. Chicago Tribune September 7, 1963: b10.
  9. ↑ "Thread of Continuity: Rydell Films Frame Human Condition Rydell". Warga, Wayne. Los Angeles Times January 1, 1970: E 1.
  10. ↑ "Pollack, Rydell Sign Mirisch Film Pact. Los Angeles Times. June 21, 1969: A 7.
  11. ↑ "Pair to Film 'Miss Wyckoff'", Martin, Betty. Los Angeles Times. August 28, 1970: D 17.
  12. ↑ "Good Luck, Miss Wyckoff". IMDb. Archived from the original on July 7, 2022. Retrieved July 7, 2022.[unreliable source?]
  13. ↑ "'A Mark Rydell Film': His Own Genre". Tom Shales. The Washington Post. February 14, 1974: D 13.
  14. ↑ Murphy, Mary (December 7, 1974). "Bronfman Jr. to Film 'Harlequin'". Los Angeles Times. p. A 6.
  15. ↑ "Bette Midler Comes Up 'Rose'". Mann, Roderick. Los Angeles Times March 1, 1979: F 10.
  16. ↑ "Rydell: He Directed the Dream Team". Sosenfield, Paul. Los Angeles Times. November 29, 1981: L 37.
  17. ↑ "Rydell hopes 'The River' will be another hit farmland saga: Director Rydell is proud of 'The River'". Thomas, Bob. Chicago Tribune. January 4, 1985: F 15 c.
  18. ↑ "A Group Player Santa Fe Film Festival Salutes Director Mark Rydell". Nott, Robert, The Santa Fe New Mexican. December 4, 2009: 54.
  19. ↑ Pedersen, Erik (June 21, 2021). "Joanne Linville Dead: 'Star Trek' Romulan Commander Had Dozens Of Screen Credits". Deadline. Archived from the original on June 24, 2021. Retrieved August 14, 2026.
  20. 1 2 "Mark Rydell, Oscar-Nominated Director of 'On Golden Pond,' Dies at 97". The Hollywood Reporter. August 13, 2026. Archived from the original on August 14, 2026. Retrieved August 13, 2026.
  21. ↑ Evans, Greg (August 14, 2026). "Mark Rydell Dies: Oscar-Nominated 'On Golden Pond', 'The Rose' Director Was 97". Deadline. Archived from the original on August 14, 2026. Retrieved August 14, 2026.
  22. ↑ NORMA LEE BROWNING. (May 25, 1970). "Hollywood Today: Shrewd and Neat". Chicago Tribune. p. a13.
  23. ↑ Kermode, Mark (2003). The Exorcist. BFI Modern Classics (revised 2nd ed.). British Film Institute. p. 23. ISBN 978-0-85170-967-3. Retrieved August 16, 2020.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mark_Rydell&oldid=1378609788"