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Martin Ritt

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American film director (1914–1990)

Key facts

Born
( 1914-03-02 ) March 2, 1914, New York City , U.S.
Died
December 8, 1990 (1990-12-08) (aged 76), Santa Monica, California , U.S.
Occupations
Director producer actor
Years active
1950–1990
Spouse
Adele Ritt ​ ( married</span>"}]]}'>m. 1942 ) ​

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Instance of
human
Given name
Martin
Gender
male
Citizenship
United States
Place of birth
New York City
Place of death
Santa Monica
Occupation
director
Languages spoken
English language
Native language
English language
Image
Martin Ritt (cropped).jpg
Show 10 more facts
date of birth
1914-03-02
date of death
1999-12-08
start of work period
1950-00-00
end of work period
1990-00-00
writing language
English language
Commons category
Martin Ritt
manner of death
natural causes
Sources (7)

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Encyclopedic overview

Martin Ritt (March 2, 1914 – December 8, 1990) was an American director, producer, and actor, active in film, theatre, and television. He was known mainly as an auteur of socially-conscious dramas and literary adaptations, described by Stanley Kauffmann as "one of the most underrated American directors, superbly competent and quietly imaginative."

Ritt was an actor-turned-director with the Federal Theater Project and Group Theatre, becoming assistant to Elia Kazan at the Actors Studio. After a promising television directing career was cut short by the Second Red Scare, Ritt made his first film, Edge of the City (1957). His 1958 film The Long, Hot Summer, based on the works of William Faulkner, was nominated for the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, the first of three times the director would be nominated for the honor.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Martin Ritt” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.