THE US: Hollywood director John Frankenheimer, whose credits include such popular movies as Birdman of Alcatraz, The Manchurian Candidate and Seven Days in May, has died at the age of 72.
The death, which occurred at Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre in Los Angeles, was caused by a massive stroke due to complications following spinal surgery, according to a statement released by cable television channel HBO.
"John Frankenheimer's command of both feature film-making and the television medium made him exceptional among directors," the statement said.
Born in New York in 1930, Frankenheimer began his career in movie-making when he was accepted in the Motion Picture Squadron of the Air Force, where he professionally handled a movie camera for the first time.
He began a career in television in 1953, after his military discharge, when he persuaded CBS to hire him as an assistant director, which consisted mainly of working as a cameraman at that time.
Frankenheimer made his debut as a big screen director in 1957 with The Young Stranger, but was disappointed with the outcome.After returning to his television career, he directed a total of 152 live television shows between 1954 and 1960.
His Birdman of Alcatraz, released in 1962, tells the story of a death row inmate who became a specialist in birds during his stay in prison. The Manchurian Candidate, based on the novel by Richard Condon, tells the story of a decorated veteran of the Korean War whose brain is altered in a detention camp to programme him to kill a liberal politician. The film touched a chord with many Americans because it was still in circulation during the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
Frankenheimer continued to build on the theme of dark government conspiracies in Seven Days in May, which dealt with a plot by military leaders to overthrow the US president.
"In his time, which I guess you'd say was the 1960s, Frankenheimer worked with the top writers, producers and actors in a series of films that dealt with issues that were just on top of the moment - things that were facing us all," movie critic Leonard Maltin said. A personal friend of President Kennedy, Frankenheimer was deeply shaken by his killing, and, by his own admission, sought solace in alcohol. - (AFP)