Gordon Parks
About
Biography
Filmography
Family & Companions
Bibliography
Notes
Parks was awarded the first Julius Rosenwald Fellowship in Photography Award in 1942.
From PR from KCET Los Angeles for "Martin: A Ballet Tribute to Martin Luther King": "An accomplished self-taught pianist, he is the composer of "Concerto for Piano and Orchestra", "Tree Symphony", five piano sonatas (all performed in New York and Boston) and a work for piano and woodwinds."
Biography
With significant accomplishments to his credit as a photographer, journalist, filmmaker, screenwriter, novelist, poet, composer and librettist to his credit, Gordon Parks may well be the African-American Renaissance man par excellence. He has won over 20 awards and received 23 (as of 1995) honorary degrees in literature, fine arts and humane letters. Parks is reputed to be Hollywood's first black director of major films but he first gained acclaim as a preeminent photojournalist at LIFE magazine from 1948-68. His subjects included such diverse topics as the black Muslims, Ernest Hemingway's Paris and life in American ghettoes. "The Learning Tree," Parks' autobiographical novel about growing up black in 1920s Kansas, provided the foundation for his moving, sometimes didactic and stunningly photographed 1969 feature debut which he produced, wrote, directed and scored.
In 1989, "The Learning Tree" was among the first 25 films deemed "culturally, historically, or esthetically significant" enough to be included in the National Film Registry for future preservation. Parks' second feature, "Shaft" (1971), actually had a far greater cultural impact. A major commercial success, the gritty NYC-lensed black detective story was one of the key early films in the 70s "Blaxploitation" movement. "Shaft" generated a hit theme song, two sequels (the first, 1971's "Shaft's Big Score," was also helmed by Parks) and a TV series. Continuing to work in the action genre for the next several years, Parks displayed increasing technical and narrative proficiency and was rewarded with bigger budgets for his efforts. What was missing was the personal and committed elements in evidence in "The Learning Tree." He recaptured some of those qualities in "Leadbelly" (1976), a fine if somewhat sanitized biopic about legendary blues singer Huddie Ledbetter.
Perhaps Parks' most accomplished film, "Leadbelly" boasted a strong and charismatic central performance by Roger E. Mosley (best known as laid-back helicopter pilot T.C. on TV's "Magnum, P.I."), great music and awe-inspiring cinematography from Bruce Surtees. Produced by a tax shelter group and copyrighted by a Netherlands entity, the film failed to find the large audience it so richly deserved due partially to poor marketing and distribution but moreover because young modern filmgoers neither knew nor cared about the subject. This turned out to be Parks' swan song as a feature director.
Parks went on to write several volumes of poetry and fiction. An accomplished self-taught pianist, he composed a number of piano sonatas, a symphony and other works for the concert stage. Parks directed and composed music for several interesting projects for PBS in the 80s (the 1984 historical drama "Solomon Northrup's Odyssey" and the autobiographical documentary "Gordon Parks: Moments Without Proper Names" and ushered in the 90s with "Martin" (PBS, 1990), an original, five-movement ballet about the life of Dr. Martin Luther King. Parks served as executive producer, director, composer, keyboardist and documentary photographer for this boldly ambitious project. Father of the late director Gordon Parks Jr, who was best known for "Superfly" (1972).
Filmography
Director (Feature Film)
Cast (Feature Film)
Writer (Feature Film)
Producer (Feature Film)
Music (Feature Film)
Film Production - Construction/Set (Feature Film)
Special Thanks (Feature Film)
Misc. Crew (Feature Film)
Director (Special)
Cast (Special)
Writer (Special)
Producer (Special)
Music (Special)
Film Production - Main (Special)
Special Thanks (Special)
Misc. Crew (Special)
Director (Short)
Cast (Short)
Life Events
1937
First assignment as photographer of women's fashions for St Paul, Minnesota, store; worked as freelance fashion photographer in Minneapolis
1944
Served as a correspondent with Office of War Information during WWII
1947
Published first book, a non-fiction work entitled "Flash Photography"
1953
Composed his first "Piano Concerto"
1954
Began serving as a color and black and white consultant on motion picture productions in the USA and Europe
1961
Film debut, directed and wrote documentary short, "Flavio"
1963
Had his first novel published, the autobiographical "The Learning Tree"
1964
Became an independent photographer and filmmaker
1967
Composed "Tree Symphony"
1969
Directed, produced, wrote and scored first feature film, "The Learning Tree"
1971
Directed his commercial breakthrough feature, "Shaft"
1972
First film appearance, as a croupier in his "Shaft's Big Score"
1975
Published a collection of his poetry and photographs entitled "Moments Without Proper Names"
1984
Named to the NAACP Hall of Fame
1984
Directed and composed score for his first TV special, "Solomon Northrup's Odyssey", a historical drama presented on PBS's "American Playhouse"
1985
Served as an informal consultant to director Steven Spielberg during the production of "The Color Purple"
1988
Directed, composed the score, provided poems and appeared in "Gordon Parks: Moments Without Proper Names", an autobiographical documentary special on PBS
1990
Executive produced, directed, composed the score, served as librettist and keyboardist, and provided documentary photography for "Martin", a five-movement ballet inspired by incidents in the life of Martin Luther King, Jr; broadcast on PBS
1992
Provided the voice of Henry Highland Garnet for "Lincoln", a two-part, four-hour ABC documentary special about Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War
1992
Provided photos of Malcolm for Spike Lee's biopic "Malcolm X"
1994
Appeared in the documentary "Malcolm X: Make It Plain" on PBS's "The American Experience"
2000
Was subject of the HBO documentary, "Half-Past Autumn: The Life and Times of Gordon Parks"
Photo Collections
Videos
Movie Clip
Trailer
Family
Companions
Bibliography
Notes
Parks was awarded the first Julius Rosenwald Fellowship in Photography Award in 1942.
From PR from KCET Los Angeles for "Martin: A Ballet Tribute to Martin Luther King": "An accomplished self-taught pianist, he is the composer of "Concerto for Piano and Orchestra", "Tree Symphony", five piano sonatas (all performed in New York and Boston) and a work for piano and woodwinds."
Honored by the National Council of Christians and Jews in 1964.
Parks has been the recipient of numerous awards over the course of his long and spectacular career. A partial listing of the honoring institutions follow: Syracuse University School of Journalism (1964); Philadelphia Museum of Art (1964); New York Art Directors Club (1964, 1968); Frederic W. Brehm Award (1962); Carr Van Anda Journalism Award from the University of Miami (1964); Carr Van Anda Journalism Award from the University of Ohio (1970); named Kansan of the Year by Native Sons and Daughters of Kansas (1986); the 1972 Spingarn Award from the NAACP.
As of 1995, Parks had received 23 honorary degrees in literature, fine arts and humane letters. A partial listing of the institutions and the honorary degrees they granted follows: a degree from Syracuse University in 1963; a Doctor of Fine Arts from Maryland Institute in 1968; a Doctor of Fine Arts from Fairfield U and a doctorate from Boston U in 1969; a Doctor of Letters from Kansas State U in 1970; a Doctor of Humanities from St Olaf College in 1973; a Doctor of Fine Arts from Colby Coll and a Doctor of Literature from MacAlester Coll in 1974; a doctorate from Lincoln U in 1975; a Doctor of Humanities from Thiel Coll in 1976; a Doctor of Arts from Columbia Coll in 1977; a Doctor of Fine Arts from Rutgers U in 1980; a DFA from Pratt Institute Pratt Institute in 1981; a Doctor of Humane Letters from Suffolk U in 1982; a Doctor of Fine Arts from the Kansas City Art Inst in 1984; and a Doctor of Humane Letters from Art Center Coll of Design in 1986.
