John Frankenheimer, director of such Hollywood classics as "The Manchurian Candidate" and "Birdman of Alcatraz," died last night. He was 72.
Frankenheimer died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center of a stroke due to complications following spinal surgery, said his business manager.
Frankenheimer was nominated for 14 Emmy Awards in a career that spanned nearly five decades. His work ranged from social dramas to political thrillers, and included a highly regarded run of feature films in the 1960s, and a string of 152 live television dramas in the '50s.
"John Frankenheimer chose a camera as his form of expression. For those of us who love movies, thank God he did," former Paramount and MGM head Mr Frank Mancuso said in a statement. "His passionate commitment to filmmaking provided the world with many treasures."
Frankenheimer made his name with "The Manchurian Candidate" (1962), a dark conspiracy thriller about a Korean War brainwashing victim. The same year he made the stirring social drama "Birdman of Alcatraz," starring Burt Lancaster as a prisoner who becomes an expert on birds.
AFP