Willard Van Dyke - Overview

Date of Birth: Dec 05, 1906 Date of Death: Jan 23, 1986

Place of Birth: Denver, Colorado, USA

Nationality: United States

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Full Biography

Eminent American documentarian who began his career as a still photographer, co-founding the renowned f.64 group (which included Edward Weston, Ansel Adams and Imogen Cunningham) in 1932 and earning acclaim for his portraits of migrant workers. Van Dyke entered film as the co-photographer of Pare Lorentz's celebrated history of the Mississippi Basin, "The River" (1937). He then set up American Documentary Films Inc. with Ralph Steiner and together they directed, photographed and produced another monumental documentary, "The City" (1939), with an outline by Lorentz and an affecting score by Aaron Copland. Van Dyke's other notable works include "Valley Town" (1940), with music by Marc Blitzstein, a series of films made for the Office of War Information during WWII (such as "Steel Town" 1943), "San Francisco" (1945)--the official film on the founding of the United Nations--and "Skyscraper" (1958), described by co-director Shirley Clarke as "a musical comedy about the building of a skyscraper." Van Dyke served as director of the Museum of Modern Art's film department ... Read More

Filmography (1)

He Stands in a Desert Counting the Seconds of His Life (1986)

Milestones (9)

1939
Directorial debut, "The City" (with Ralph Steiner; also co-producer and co-photographer)

1936 - 1937
Cameraman on Pare Lorentz's documentary "The River"

1935
Worked as photographer for "Harper's Bazaar"

1934
Served as photographer on WPA Art Project in San Francisco

1932
Co-founded f.64 group of photographers in San Francisco

Major Acheivement
Filmed sponsored documentaries for the Rockefeller Foundation, Ford Foundation and for TV series ("Omnibus" and "The 20th Century")

Major Acheivement
Founded film program at SUNY, Purchase; professor of film there

Photos From Last Movie