Laslo Benedek
About
Biography
Filmography
Family & Companions
Biography
Began his career at UFA and, after brief stints in France and England, arrived in the US in 1937. Benedek made his directorial debut a decade later with the Frank Sinatra vehicle "The Kissing Bandit" (1948) and teamed up with producer Stanley Kramer twice, for a faithful, if pedestrian adaptation of Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman" (1951) and "The Wild One" (1954), which remains a signature film of the 1950s, largely thanks to the charismatic presence of Marlon Brando as the silent, rebel biker. From the mid-1950s Benedek worked primarily in TV.
Filmography
Director (Feature Film)
Cast (Feature Film)
Writer (Feature Film)
Producer (Feature Film)
Editing (Feature Film)
Misc. Crew (Feature Film)
Life Events
1937
Moved to Hollywood; worked as montage editor; renewed association with Joe Paternak and served as associate producer on some of his musical films
1948
Film directing debut, "The Kissing Bandit"
1959
Second unit director on "Ben-Hur"; worked on the famed chariot sequence
1962
Second unit director on "The Longest Day"
1976
Directed last TV film, "Assault on Agathon"
1983
Became visiting professor of film at the Annenberg School of Communication at the University of Pennsylvania