1. William Hal Ashby was an American film director and editor.
19 Facts About Hal Ashby
1. 2.
Hal Ashby's work exemplified the countercultural attitude of the era.
3.
Hal Ashby is associated with the New Hollywood wave of filmmaking with filmmakers such as Martin Scorsese, Woody Allen, Mike Nichols, and Sidney Lumet.
4.
Hal Ashby received a third Oscar nomination, this time for Best Director for Coming Home.
5.
Hal Ashby was born September 2,1929, in Ogden, Utah, the youngest of four siblings born to Mormon parents Eileen Ireta and James Thomas Hal Ashby, a dairy farm owner.
6.
Hal Ashby's parents divorced in 1936, after which his father remarried.
7.
When Hal Ashby was 12 years old, his father committed suicide.
8.
Hal Ashby's career gained momentum when he served as the editor of The Loved One, an adaptation of the Evelyn Waugh novel that involved such New Hollywood contemporaries as screenwriter Terry Southern and cinematographer Haskell Wexler.
9.
Hal Ashby often stated that the practice of editing provided him with the best filmmaking background outside of traditional university study and carried the techniques learned as an editor with him when he began directing.
10.
Hal Ashby collapsed before the final filmed concert at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona, on December 13,1981.
11.
In September 1983, Hal Ashby directed Solo Trans, a Neil Young concert video that was released the following year.
12.
Hal Ashby was fired after delivering a 20-minute rough cut of the beginning of the film that included almost no dialogue.
13.
Hal Ashby directed Jake's Journey, a sword and sorcery fantasy conceived by Graham Chapman.
14.
Longtime friend Warren Beatty advised Hal Ashby to seek medical care after he complained of various ailments, including undiagnosed phlebitis.
15.
Hal Ashby was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer that rapidly spread to his lungs, colon, and liver.
16.
Hal Ashby died on December 27,1988, at his home in Malibu, California.
17.
The moving image collection of Hal Ashby is held at the Academy Film Archive.
18.
Hal Ashby has been an influence to the melodic post-hardcore band Touche Amore.
19.
Hal Ashby is referenced in the 3rd song "Hal Ashby", of their album "Spiral in a Straight Line" in the lyrics.