Leon Gast
Leon Gast | |
---|---|
![]() June 2010 | |
Born | Leon Jacques Gast March 30, 1936 |
Died | March 8, 2021 Woodstock, New York,U.S. | (aged 84)
Occupations |
|
Notable work | When We Were Kings |
Spouse |
Geri Spolan (m.1991) |
Children | 2 |
Leon Jacques Gast(March 30, 1936 – March 8, 2021)[1]was an American documentary film director, producer, cinematographer, and editor. His documentary,When We Were Kingsdepicts the iconic heavyweight bo xing match:The Rumble in the JunglebetweenMuhammad AliandGeorge Foreman.This film would go on to win the 1996Academy Award for Best Documentary Featureand theIndependent Spirit Award.Gast co-directed the 1977 documentary,The Grateful Dead Moviewith guitaristJerry Garcia.The film captured the band's October 1974, five-night performance at theWinterland BallroominSan Francisco.Gast also co-directed the 1983 filmHell's Angels Forever,which focused on the notorious motorcycle clubHells Angels.The Angels are believed to have learned that Gast put material in the documentary which they didn't prefer. To this end, Gast claimed that the Angels tracked him down and beat him up.[citation needed]Gast also produced works on B.B. King and Celia Cruz.
Early life
[edit]A native ofJersey City, New Jersey,Gast graduated fromHenry Snyder High Schooland studied dramatic arts atColumbia University,[1][2]and in that same period worked on the television seriesHigh Adventurewith writer and broadcasterLowell Thomas.Gast is also known for his still photography which has appeared in such magazines asVogue,Esquire,andHarper's Bazaar.Gast would make album covers for Fania All-Stars which would lead him to makeOur Latin Thing.[1]
Kinshasa &When We Were Kings
[edit]Leon Gast is best known for his documentaryWhen We Were Kings,for which he won theAcademy Award for Best Documentary Feature.[1]The film details the bo xing match known as "The Rumble in the Jungle"betweenMuhammad AliandGeorge Foreman.Ali defeated Foreman in the fight, for which the two split a $10 million purse.
Gast was not originally supposed to film this documentary. Gast went to Kinshasa and was still a photographer who had one documentary which was on Latin music. Gast was hired to create a documentary about a three-day music festival that was happening in Kinshasa when the fight was occurring. Zaire's ruler declared the concert free-of-charge days before it was supposed to happen. This was problematic because funds for the documentary were supposed to come directly from the proceeds of the festival. Five days before the scheduled fight, Foreman acquired a bad cut above one of his eyes and the fight was pushed back six weeks. Gast turned his attention to the fight and centered the documentary on Ali.
When Gast returned from Kinshasa, he had 300,000 feet of 16mm film (138 hours). Initially Gast didn't have the money to finish the documentary, so he paid the bills by making documentaries on the Grateful Dead and the Hell's Angels. In 1989, Gast's former lawyer, David Sonenberg, helped Gast out by putting up almost $1 million to finish the project. The film was first featured at the 1996Sundance Film festival.Gast won an award for the documentary and was eventually premiered atRadio City Music Hall.Gast spent close to two decades onWhen We Were Kings.This documentary was focused towards the comeback of Ali who was forced into exile after he objected to the draft during the Vietnam Draft.When We Were Kingshas received strongly positive critical reaction. The documentary highlighted an important time in sports. Susan Ryan, who is a Cineaste reviewer, said “this entertaining documentary shows the boxer at one of the most celebrated moments in his career, dancing around the press, and preaching black pride with the same skill that he once used dancing around the ring”.[3]
Golden Door International Film Festival
[edit]Leon Gast has also been awarded the lifetime achievement award at the Golden Door International Film Festival in 2012.[4]Gast is one of a small group of New Jersey natives to have won anOscar.Frank Sinatra (Hoboken) won for From Here To Eternity, Bruce Springsteen (Freehold) won for Philadelphia. Jed Dimatteo presented the award to Gast. Dimatteo also is a Jersey City social historian and publisher of the Jersey Journal newsletter. Dimatteo was involved in planning the festival and brought up Gast's name after he rediscovered Gast's work.
Other works
[edit]Gast's 2010 project is a documentary entitledSmash His Camera,a film aboutpaparazzophotographerRon Galella.The film won the award for best director of a documentary at the 2010Sundance Film Festival.Galella got his start in street journalism. Galella “is best known for his obsessive ten-year pursuit ofJacqueline Kennedy Onassis,which resulted in a lengthy court case weighing the rights of the press vs. the individual's fight to privacy.”[5]
Gast directed his second documentary on a bo xing legend,Manny,with Ryan Moore. It focuses on the bo xing career ofManny Pacquiao,detailing his rise from poverty to the very top of the bo xing world.Manny Pacquiaonow is a congressman in thePhilippines.[1]
Personal life and death
[edit]Gast married Geri Spolan in 1991. He had two children from a previous marriage.[1]
Gast died from complications ofAlzheimer's diseaseat his home inWoodstock, New York,on March 8, 2021.[1]
Filmography
[edit]- Our Latin Thing (Nuestra Cosa)(1972)
- Celia Cruz and the Fania Allstars in Africa(1974)
- The Grateful Dead Movie(1974); as a co-director forJerry Garcia
- B.B. King - Sweet 16(1974)
- Hells Angels Forever(1983)
- When We Were Kings(1996)
- One Love(2003)
- Soul Power(2008)
- Smash His Camera(2010)
- The Trials of Muhammad Ali(2013) (executive producer)
- Manny(2014)
Awards
[edit]- Special Jury Recognition,Sundance Film Festival(1996 – When We Were Kings)
- Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature (1997 – When We Were Kings)
- Independent Spirit Truer than Fiction Award (1997 – When We Were Kings)
- National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Non-Fiction Film (1997 - When We Were Kings)
- Sundance Film Festival Directing Award: U.S. Documentary (2010 – Smash His Camera)
- News & Documentary Emmy Award for Outstanding Historical Programming (2015 – Independent Lens)
References
[edit]- ^abcdefgRisen, Clay (March 12, 2021)."Leon Gast, Director of 'When We Were Kings,' Dies at 84".The New York Times.RetrievedMarch 12,2021.
- ^Feinberg, Scott."Leon Gast, Oscar-Winning Documentarian Behind 'When We Were Kings,' Dies at 85",The Hollywood Reporter,March 8, 2021. Accessed March 13, 2021. "Born in Jersey City, New Jersey, Gast attended Snyder High School and graduated from Columbia University before embarking on a career in still photography."
- ^"Leon Gast." Contemporary Authors Online. Detroit: Gale, 2007. Literature Resource Center. Web. November 8, 2015.
- ^Rob, Adam (October 16.2011), "Jersey City Oscar winner Leon Gast Feted with lifetime achievement award at Golden Door International Film Festival".The Jersey Journal,retrieved October 6, 2012
- ^Rees, Stephen. "Smash his Camera." Library Journal May 15, 2011: 56. Literature Resource Center. Web. November 19, 2015.
- ^Davis, Jack E. When We Were Kings, by Leon Gast, David Sonenberg, Taylor Hackford. The Journal of American History Dec 1997: 1182-1183. Print.
- ^Goldberg, Jonah. "When We Were Kings." Commentary 103.6 (1997): 51+. Literature Resource Center. Web. October 26, 2015.
- ^Matsumoto, Nancy. “From Off The Canvas.” People 47.11 (1997): 22. Academic Search Premier. Web. October 13, 2015.
External links
[edit]- 1936 births
- 2021 deaths
- American documentary film directors
- Artists from Jersey City, New Jersey
- Columbia University School of the Arts alumni
- Deaths from Alzheimer's disease in New York (state)
- Directors of Best Documentary Feature Academy Award winners
- Film directors from New Jersey
- Henry Snyder High School alumni
- Deaths from dementia in New York (state)
- People from Jersey City, New Jersey