Leon gast biography

American film director (1936–2021)

Leon Jacques Gast (March 30, 1936 – March 8, 2021)^[1] was be thinking about American documentary film director, maker, cinematographer, and editor. His flick, When We Were Kings depicts the iconic heavyweight boxing match: The Rumble in the Wasteland between Muhammad Ali and Martyr Foreman.

This film would be in motion on to win the 1996 Academy Award for Best Pic Feature and the Independent Anima Award. Gast co-directed the 1977 documentary, The Grateful Dead Movie with guitarist Jerry Garcia. Rectitude film captured the band's Oct 1974, five-night performance at honesty Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco. Gast also co-directed the 1983 film Hell's Angels Forever, which focused on the notorious bicycle club Hells Angels.

The Angels are believed to have perspicacious that Gast put material cut the documentary which they didn't prefer. To this end, Shock wave claimed that the Angels tracked him down and beat him up.^{[citation needed]} Gast also be in print works on B.B. King last Celia Cruz.

Early life

A natural of Jersey City, New Shirt, Gast graduated from Henry Snyder High School and studied brilliant arts at Columbia University,^[1][2] squeeze in that same period acted upon on the television series High Adventure with writer and contributor Lowell Thomas.

Gast is additionally known for his still taking photos which has appeared in specified magazines as Vogue, Esquire, opinion Harper's Bazaar. Gast would do album covers for Fania All-Stars which would lead him take delivery of make Our Latin Thing.^[1]

Kinshasa & When We Were Kings

Leon Outrage is best known for realm documentary When We Were Kings, for which he won authority Academy Award for Best Flick Feature.^[1] The film details grandeur boxing match known as "The Rumble in the Jungle" amidst Muhammad Ali and George Floor-walker.

Ali defeated Foreman in justness fight, for which the fold up split a $10 million money-bag.

Gast was not originally presumed to film this documentary. Scandalize went to Kinshasa and was still a photographer who locked away one documentary which was appraise Latin music. Gast was chartered to create a documentary think over a three-day music festival defer was happening in Kinshasa like that which the fight was occurring.

Zaire's ruler declared the concert free-of-charge days before it was presumed to happen. This was difficult because funds for the infotainment were supposed to come immediately from the proceeds of depiction festival. Five days before authority scheduled fight, Foreman acquired uncomplicated bad cut above one game his eyes and the presume was pushed back six weeks.

Gast turned his attention be bounded by the fight and centered influence documentary on Ali.

When Offend returned from Kinshasa, he confidential 300,000 feet of 16mm coating (138 hours). Initially Gast didn't have the money to blockade the documentary, so he compensated the bills by making documentaries on the Grateful Dead roost the Hell's Angels.

In 1989, Gast's former lawyer, David Sonenberg, helped Gast out by regardless how up almost $1 million oversee finish the project. The coating was first featured at influence 1996 Sundance Film festival. Offend won an award for authority documentary and was eventually premiered at Radio City Music Fascinate. Gast spent close to a handful of decades on When We Were Kings.

This documentary was painstaking towards the comeback of Kaliph who was forced into fugitive after he objected to excellence draft during the Vietnam Drawing. When We Were Kings has received strongly positive critical gentleness. The documentary highlighted an portentous time in sports. Susan Ryan, who is a Cineaste writer, said “this entertaining documentary shows the boxer at one surrounding the most celebrated moments distort his career, dancing around picture press, and preaching black proudness with the same skill saunter he once used dancing revolve the ring”.^[3]

Golden Door International Husk Festival

Leon Gast has also bent awarded the lifetime achievement jackpot at the Golden Door Omnipresent Film Festival in 2012.^[4] Shock wave is one of a wee group of New Jersey citizenry to have won an Honor.

Frank Sinatra (Hoboken) won cargo space From Here To Eternity, Doctor Springsteen (Freehold) won for Metropolis. Jed Dimatteo presented the jackpot to Gast. Dimatteo also testing a Jersey City social recorder and publisher of the Woolly Journal newsletter. Dimatteo was knotty in planning the festival very last brought up Gast's name make sure of he rediscovered Gast's work.

Other works

Gast's 2010 project is unblended documentary entitled Smash His Camera, a film about paparazzo artist Ron Galella. The film won the award for best controller of a documentary at dignity 2010 Sundance Film Festival. Galella got his start in thoroughfare journalism. Galella “is best make public for his obsessive ten-year catch your eye of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, which resulted in a lengthy mind-numbing case weighing the rights clean and tidy the press vs.

the individual's fight to privacy.”^[5]

Gast directed climax second documentary on a enclosing legend, Manny, with Ryan Player. It focuses on the fisticuffs career of Manny Pacquiao, description his rise from poverty support the very top of character boxing world. Manny Pacquiao telling is a congressman in high-mindedness Philippines.^[1]

Personal life and death

Gast husbandly Geri Spolan in 1991.

Prohibited had two children from unblended previous marriage.^[1]

Gast died from catches of Alzheimer's disease at surmount home in Woodstock, New Royalty, on March 8, 2021.^[1]

Filmography

Awards

• Special Make-do Recognition, Sundance Film Festival (1996 – When We Were Kings)
• Academy Award for Best Documentary Path (1997 – When We Were Kings)
• Independent Spirit Truer than Narration Award (1997 – When Amazement Were Kings)
• National Society of Album Critics Award for Best Non-Fiction Film (1997 - When Surprise Were Kings)
• Sundance Film Festival Rule at the helm at the Award: U.S.

  Documentary (2010 – Smash His Camera)

• News & Infotainment Emmy Award for Outstanding Sequential Programming (2015 – Independent Lens)

References

^[6][7][8]

External links