Peter Bogdanovich was born on the 30th July 1939, in Kingston, New York State USA, and is an award- winning actor and director, best known to the world for his highly-acclaimed drama film “The Last Picture Show” (1971), among many other differing achievements such as “Daisy Miller” (1974), “Saint Jack” (1979), and “Mask” (1985).
Have you ever wondered how rich Peter Bogdanovich is, as of late 2017? According to authoritative sources, it has been estimated that Bogdanovich’s net worth is as high as $10 million, an amount earned through his successful career in the entertainment world, which has been active since the late ‘60s.
Peter Bogdanovich Net Worth $10 Million
Peter is of mixed ancestry; his mother, Herma, was an Austrian Jewish, while his father, Borislav, was a Serbian Orthodox Christian. The two met in the Balkans following Herma’s settling in Zagreb, Croatia in 1932. The two migrated to the USA in 1939, and not long after, Peter was born.
Before he took the director’s chair, Peter studied acting under Stella Adler and then tried his luck as an actor. He made his acting debut in one episode of the “Kraft Theatre”, and then in the early ‘60s worked as a film programmer at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. There, he presented the films of such directors as Orson Welles, Howard Hawks, Allan Dwan and John Ford. Also, he was a film screen writer, having several articles published in Esquire.
However, he switched to directing, and made his feature debut in 1968 with the thriller “Targets”, starring Boris Karloff, Tim O’Kelly and Arthur Peterson, then the same year directed the sci-fi adventure “Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women”, but both films failed to achieve any great success. Nevertheless, in 1971 he made a breakthrough with the drama “The Last Picture Show”, which won him several prestigious nominations and awards, including two Academy Award nominations, and a BAFTA Film Award for Best Screenplay. Also, the film increased his net worth and his reputation as well. He made several more extremely successful films during the ‘70s, such as Golden Globe Award- nominated comedy “What’s Up, Doc? (1972), starring Barbra Streisand, Ryan O’Neal and Madeline Kahn, then one of his greatest accomplishments, the comedy crime drama “Paper Moon”, in which he again used the talents of Madeline Kahn, then Ryan O’Neal and Tatum O’Neal, followed by the Academy Award- nominated drama “Daisy Miller” (1974), and lastly “Saint Jack” in 1979. All of these, among other creations, increased further Peter’s wealth.
He was struck with a personal disaster in the early ‘80s, after his lover, Dorothy Stratten, was murdered by her estranged husband. Dorothy was cast in his film “They All Laughed” (1980), however, the film didn’t live up to its expectations, regardless that it had Audrey Hepburn, Ben Gazzara, and Patti Hansen as well as stars.
Due to these events, Peter turned to writing and wrote “The Killing of the Unicorn – Dorothy Stratten 1960–1980”, a memoir published in 1984 and then returned to directing with the film “Mask” in 1985, for which he earned a Palme d’Or Award nomination.
He was continually active during the ‘90s with such films as “Texasville” (1990), which was a sequel to his critically most successful film “The Last Picture Show”, although the sequel didn’t go near the popularity of the first part. Then several television films “To Sir, with Love II” (1996), and “The Price of Heaven” (1997).
With the new millennium, Peter switched his focus once again, returning to acting and leaving directing aside, though he did make a few more films, including “The Cat’s Meow” (2001), “The Mystery of Natalie Wood” (2004), and “She’s Funny That Way” (2014).
Peter played Dr. Elliot Kupferberg in the TV drama series “The Sopranos” from 2000 until 2007, then portrayed Irving Mann in the romantic comedy film “Broken English” (2007), next to Parker Posey, Melvil Poupaud and Gena Rowlands. Since 2010, he has featured in more than 10 films, however, none of those roles made a mark in his career.
Regarding his personal life, Peter has two children with his first wife Polly Platt, to whom he was married from 1962 until 1972. He married for the second time in 1988 to actress Louise Stratten; the two divorced in 2001.
Grammy Award for Best Music Film, Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Comedy, Satellite Auteur Award
Nominations
Academy Award for Best Director, Academy Award for Best Writing Adapted Screenplay, Golden Globe Award for Best Director - Motion Picture, Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, BAFTA Award for Best Film, Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Featu...
Movies
She's Funny That Way, The Last Picture Show, Paper Moon, What's Up, Doc?, Targets, Mask, They All Laughed, The Cat's Meow, At Long Last Love, Noises Off, Texasville, The Thing Called Love, Daisy Miller, Infamous, The Wild Angels, Directed by John Ford, Illegally Yours, Runnin' Down a Dream, Voyage t...
On Red River: Red River was my favorite movie when I was ten.
2
[on today's comedies] I don't go to see too many of those, because I saw Knocked Up (2007) which I thought was ridiculous - she would never go with that guy, even if she was dead drunk. It's a movie by people, I guess, who have wish fulfillment issues. A lot of the comedies are based on body fluid jokes or jokes about sperm in your hair. I'm not keen on that kind of comedy.[2015}
3
[ on Mask (1985)] I made that picture for Dorothy Stratten because she'd been murdered, and in the 10 months I knew her I found that she was very, very interested in The Elephant Man on Broadway. She went to see this production and she was very moved by it. After she was killed I figured it out: Dorothy identified with him because of her beauty - because her beauty was as much of a source of alienation as his ugliness. They came to me with this picture called Mask. I thought it was not a very good script but it surely was an interesting story because it was a true story. And then I remember how Dorothy felt about The Elephant Man and I thought, "Well, I'll make it for her." [We had] a list of actresses for the role of Rusty. Ellen Burstyn and Cloris [Leachman] and Jane Fonda - anybody with a name. About two-thirds of the way through the list, there's Cher. I said, "That's interesting. I can see her [playing] a druggie and riding a motorcycle, and I can't see Jane Fonda doing it. She's too sophisticated." Cher and I didn't get along that well. She sort of irritated me, because she had such a negative attitude. But she's very good in the picture. I don't think I've ever shot more close-ups - she's very good in close-ups and not that good in playing the whole scene through, because she loses the thread of it. So I shot it that way, and she should have won an Oscar.[2015]
4
[on What's Up, Doc? (1972)} [This] was really the second picture in my career that I styled to a movie star. One was Boris Karloff in Targets and the second was Barbra Streisand in What's Up, Doc? The entire picture came about because Barbra wanted to do a picture with me. What happened was she saw an early cut of Picture Show and was extremely moved. She said, "I want to do a drama with you." I said, "I just did a drama. I want to do a comedy." I had seen that she could be very, very good. She had a few bad habits that I would be able to fix, but my major feeling was that she was brilliant at comedy - and, as it turned out, she is. She sort of took that for granted - that's why she wanted to do a drama with me, because for her, comedy was fairly easy. She was a joy. She's great in the picture and I love her dearly, I really do. Even though she didn't trust the material, she went along with my humor and we became very good friends and we get along very well - and I have nothing but affection and love for Barbra.[2015]
5
[ on Paper Moon (1973)] They said, "[John] Huston wants to do this with [Paul] Newman and his daughter, but we'd rather have you." I said, "OK, I'll do this with Ryan [O'Neal] and Tatum O'Neal." But they didn't want them. [Producer] Bob Evans was pissed off at Ryan because Ryan had an affair with Ali [MacGraw] while she was married to Bob on Love Story. And I said, "Bob, I have a hit in the top 10 called What's Up, Doc? with Ryan O'Neal. How do you explain to your shareholders that you won't do a picture with this megastar?" It was an unarguable point. I think it's one of the audience's favorites of my pictures. People really like that movie. It didn't get great notices originally - it got mixed notices - but it was a big thing with the audience.[2015]
6
[ on The Last Picture Show (1971)] We had such a bunch of good actors in that film. [The scene in which] Cloris Leachman [who won the best supporting actress Oscar for her role] throws that coffee pot and yells at Timothy Bottoms - Cloris did it brilliantly. She wanted to rehearse it and I kept saying, "I don't want to rehearse it; I want to see it for the first time when we actually roll." I had learned that idea - to not let the actors show you an emotional scene before they shot it - from John Ford through Henry Fonda. It was Hank Fonda who told me that for the big climactic scene with the mother in The Grapes of Wrath, [Ford] wouldn't let the actors play it for him - he wanted it to be fresh when they did it and of course he used the first take. So I said, "Action!" and she was extraordinary. [But] she said, "I can do it better." I said, "No, you can't; you just won the Oscar." And to this day - Jeff Bridges told me that he [recently] ran into Cloris and that she said, "Oh, I'm so angry at Peter. That was the first take. I could have done it better." And Jeff said: "Oh, Cloris. You won the Oscar!"[2015]
7
Saint Jack (1979) and They All Laughed (1981) were two of my best films but never received the kind of distribution they should have.[2006]
8
[on making The Last Picture Show (1971)] I hope I'm not repeating what happened to [Orson Welles]. You know, make a successful serious film like this early and then spend the rest of my life in decline.
9
Directing is really creating an atmosphere, a particular kind of atmosphere and usually one that is very peculiar to the director. It doesn't necessarily have to be. Some directors have no personality and it shows. But one way or another, what the actors are doing or the crews are doing, they're trying to please the director.
The only formal training I ever did was four years as an actor. When I direct, I think like one of the actors.
12
I think one of the reasons younger people don't like older films, films made say before the '60s, is that they've never seen them on a big screen, ever. If you don't see a film on a big screen, you haven't really seen it. You've seen a version of it, but you haven't seen it. That's my feeling, but I'm old-fashioned.
13
[regarding his trademark neck scarves] I'm just wearing a bandanna; it's not so fancy. Most of the time they are cotton and different sizes. It started when I was shooting The Last Picture Show (1971) in Texas, and I liked wearing it because it made me feel secure. I don't know why. But it feels cozy, and I kept wearing it.
14
Filmmakers have a responsibility to the audience and to the work, I wish they felt that responsibility more, especially to what's true in life.
15
[on the critical plaudits earned by The Last Picture Show (1971)] I'm very gratified by the reception. It's gone beyond my wildest dreams. To have your picture compared to Citizen Kane (1941) is incredible; certainly it isn't true, but it's nice to have it written.
16
[when asked why he picked Larry McMurtry's novel "The Last Picture Show" as subject matter] I liked the idea of doing a period piece because I like anything better in the past than in the present. I'm not moved by things that happen in the present, only when I think about them later. Life is too real when it's actually happening.
17
[to producer Irwin Winkler, recounted in Peter Biskind's book "Easy Riders, Raging Bulls"] Remember me? I used to be Peter Bogdanovich.
18
I made a lot of mistakes when I was successful in the '70s. You know, there's no handbook for success so I couldn't make out what vibe I was picking up. But it's called jealousy, envy and loathing, though they come at you with smiles because they want something from you. So you put on a front of arrogance to cover insecurity.
19
They don't have personalities, so they can't be stars. Do me a Tom Cruise impression, do me a Tom Hanks impression.
20
It's a misconception about acting that it's a practice in pretending to be someone else. It's actually a practice in finding the character within yourself.
21
Marlon Brando changed everything for actors. After him, everyone wanted to be Marlon. No one wanted to be a type: they all wanted to display versatility in every role. But the brilliance that Marlon had was that he had star personality that shone through in every role.
22
The end of the studio system signaled the end of the great screen stars. They were the sort of actors who brought their own charismatic personas to each role they played. Audiences felt as if they knew them immediately every time they watched one of their movies.
23
I always thought that the goal in movies was to extinguish disbelief.
24
I've always been a self-confessed opportunist.
25
They're all so jealous in Hollywood. It's not enough to have a hit. Your best friend should also have a failure.
#
Fact
1
Five of his first eight pictures are period pieces. He's directed seven in all.
2
Bogdanovich's own story has been a remarkable if often tumultuous one - a story not entirely unlike Welles' own in its extremes of success and failure. Bogdanovich rocketed to fame in his 30s with a trio of beloved classics, "The Last Picture Show" (story-screenplay 1972) and "What's Up Doc" (story-screenplay, director 1972), "Paper Moon" (director 1973) and later with "At Long Last Love" (director 1975), all of which were steeped in adoration for Hollywood's past - and then saw his own career plummet to Earth in the late '70s after a string of bruising flops. He was eventually forced to declare bankruptcy and move out of the Bel-Air estate. He suffered personal tragedy when his then lover, Playboy Playmate turned actress Dorothy Stratten, was killed by her estranged husband in 1980, then faced public scandal when he later married her younger sister, Louise Stratten (1988-2001). "Its been a very up-and-down kind of existence," Bogdanovich said, sounding somewhat weary but not beaten down. But even with all he's been through, he has never stopped working, driven by a passion for the cinema that stretches back as far as he can remember. At age 76 in August 2015, Bogdanovich returned to the big screen with "She's Funny That Way," his first feature in 14 years. The Lionsgate Premiere release - which boasts a surprising starry cast considering its modest budget, a testament to many actors' desire to work with a director of his stature. A throwback to the screwball comedies of Hollywood's golden era, the fast-paced farce centers on a prostitute turned actress (Imogen Poots) who becomes entangled with a philandering Broadway producer (Owen Wilson), a foul mouthed therapist (Jennifer Aniston) and an obnoxious matinee idol (Rhys Ifans), among others, on her way to fame. The film was co-produced by Wes Anderson and Noah Baumbach, both of whom have been deeply influenced by Bogdanovich's work. "The three of us became friendly, and at some point they started calling me Pop, so I said, 'OK, then you're my sons,' " said Bogdanovich, currently unmarried and has no children.
3
Growing up in New York city in the 1940s, the son of immigrants from Austria and Serbia, Bogdanovich recognized early that movies had a special ability to help people transcend their troubles. Throughout his childhood, he would see up to 400 movies a year, studiously recording his opinion on note cards. He began his film career programming films for the Museum of Modern Art and writing about movies for Esquire Magazine before moving to Los Angeles in the late 1960s - and breaking into the entertainment-film business. "Movies used to be something powerful," Bogdanovich said ruefully. "It's been a bit ruined now. I don't know if we can get it back - I think we can. But it's lost its innocence. The interesting stuff has moved to television, and movies have become more like, "'What can I blow up next?' there's a terrible cancer at the heart of that intent." As Bogdanovich sees it, James Cameron's 1997 "Titanic" marked a critical turning point. "Movie making is out of control thanks to Jim Cameron. Everybody was saying 'My God, he's going to spend $150 million! This movie is going to flop! Is he out of his mind?' Then the picture was a huge hit and everyone said, 'That's the solution: Spend $150 million.' " as Bogdanovich sighs, "It's become so boring." Although "She's Funny That Way" is Bogdanovich's first feature since the 2001 period drama "The Cat's Meow" (director), he is quick to point out that he has hardly been idle. Since the mid-90s, he has published two well regarded books, "Who the Devil Made It" and "Who the Hell's in It," collecting his conversations with great film makers and actors of the past. He also found a surprising measure of fame in front of the camera as Dr. Elliot Kuperfberg (2004, 2006, 2007) on the HBO cable TV series "The Sopranos" (2000-2007). Long before he directed, Bogdanovich studied acting with Stella Adler. He directed a number of television movies and a four-hour documentary about Tom Petty. "Directing for TV is the same thing. It's just for less money and with less time." Still, there's no question film remains his first love. He has a number of movies he's hoping to make including a comedy about an aging film-maker called "Wait For Me" that he began writing shortly after Dorothy Stratten's death (1980). "I really need to make that picture. I think it's the best thing I ever wrote." Over the years, Bogdanovich has experienced both soaring success and crushing failure. It's safe to say he preferred the former. But what really matters most in the end, he says, is simply trying to connect with that movie-goer sitting out there in the dark. "My mother used to say to me, 'If you have a thousand people watching your movie and one of them understands what you're trying to do, you're lucky.' That sounds almost pretentious, but I know what she meant".
4
Peter Bogdanovich (b:07.30.1939) has countless stories, and he tells them with the sort of flair you'd expect from a man who wears a neck scarf. Over the years, the director befriended an array of Hollywood legends - including John Ford (b:02.01.1894-d:08.31.1973, age 79), Gary Grant (b: 01.18.1904-d:11.29.1986, age 82), Alfred Hitchcock (b:08.13.1899-d:04.29.1980, age 80) and Howard Hawks (b:05.30.1896-d:12.26. - and though they're nearly all gone now, he keeps their memories alive by recounting these anecdotes, peppering them with uncannily accurate impressions. On a bright August, 2015 afternoon, Bogdanovich sat in the dining room of ex-wife (1988-2001) Louise Stratten's San Fernando Valley apartment. His hair neatly combed, his eyes slightly melancholy behind large eye glasses, he was reminiscing about a period in the mid-1970s when he was riding high off a string of early hits and living in a lavish Bel-Air home with then-girl-friend Cybill Shepherd. Orson Welles (b:05.06.1915-d:10.10.1985, age 70) was a frequent house guest. "Orson was very funny," Bogdanovich said, speaking in the languid, refined tone that became familiar to viewers who watched him as a therapist on HBO's cable television series "The Sopranos" (2000-2007). "Orson had a little wing to himself, and to get to the TV room, Orson would go through my office. He'd be tiptoeing through not to disturb me and whisper, "Dick Van Dyke ... is on." He loved 'Dick Van Dyke' re-runs, and he loved the one with Telly Savalas with the lollipop, 'Kojak.' He loved his chutzpah".
5
Bogdanovich's feature film "She's Funny That Way" was greeted with a standing ovation at the 2014 Venice Film Festival; since then, critics have been divided, with some finding it charming and funny and others deeming it overly old-fashioned. As a scholar of film history - the kind of dyed-in-the-wool cinephile who can tell you that the term "screwball comedy" was coined by "Hollywood's Daily Variety" back in 1936 in describing the performance of Carole Lombard in the 1936 film "My Man Godfrey" - Bogdanovich is well aware he's working in an antiquated genre. But as Bogdanovich sees it, classics like Preston Sturges' "The Miracle of Morgan's Creek" (1944) or Ernst Lubitsch's "The Shop Around the Corner" (1940) are as worth trying to emulate today as they were more than 40 years ago when he directed "What's Up, Doc?" (1972). Reflecting on the kinds of comedies major studios make today, Bogdanovich makes no effort to hide his scorn. "I don't like to insult anybody, but I think it's no great piece of witticism if a joke depends on somebody having sperm in their hair or getting their equipment caught in a zipper," he said. "I'm sorry, it just isn't funny. It may be funny to some people because it's shock humor - and I'm not saying these people are stupid - but they just don't know any better. It's like you eat a certain kind of food and you think that's filet mignon." Bogdanovich might sound like a cranky old man. But among contemporary film-makers, his devotion to Hollywood's Golden Age runs as deep as anyone's if not deeper - and if that has sometimes meant being out of step with current fashions, so be it. "If you look at Martin Scorsese, he has adapted constantly to this climate and this era - he had Kanye West in the 'Woolf of Wall Street' trailer," said Imogen Poots. "But with Peter, there's more of a sense of, 'No, the films of the '20s and the '30s were the best. They really don't make them like they used to - so I'm going to try to do that.' Bogdanovich's sense of humor and his grace as a film-maker feel very "old-timey' - and if you are romantic at all about that era, it's a dream to work with him." Surprisingly for such a light frothy comedy, "She's Funny That Way" had its roots in a particularly trying time in Bogdanovich's life. He began writing the film with Louise Stratten in 2000, when their marriage was falling apart. "Louise and I were having a very tough time," said Bogdanovich, who had an apartment in New York but stays with Stratten when he is in Los Angeles. "We were broke. I was working, but it was not an easy time for us. And we just said, 'Let's write a comedy.'" Working on the film helped the pair survive that stretch. "Our marriage was toward the end, and we didn't want to completely admit it," Stratten said. "But writing this movie, we were making each other laugh. It really got us through that time." The two divorced in 2001 but remain very close friends.
6
Will be working in Australia's Fox Studios, for a "Natalie Wood" project starring Justine Waddell and Sophie Monk. [June 2003]
7
An extensive interview with Fritz Lang resulted in the book "Fritz Lang in America" published by Praesger in 1967.
After At Long Last Love (1975) was been pulled from theaters due to poor ticket sales, he wrote an open letter, printed in newspapers throughout the country, apologizing for the quality of the film.
10
Member of the jury at the Venice Film Festival in 1992.
11
Member of the jury at the Venice Film Festival in 1981.
12
Interviewed in "The Director's Event: Interviews with Five American Filmmakers", by Eric Sherman and Martin Rubin.
Believes that his falling out with legendary director John Ford was related to his guiding long-time Ford repertory member Ben Johnson to the Academy Award. His ex-wife, Polly Platt, says that Ford didn't like Bogdanovich's treatment of her that led to a divorce. Platt stayed close to Ford until he died.
15
Something of a film historian, he set out to interview a good many of the important directors and stars from the "Golden Age of Hollywood", interviews later compiled in a series of books he released. While his "relationships" with some of his subjects were mere brief encounters, others turned into long-lasting friendships. Among the legends he befriended were Orson Welles, Howard Hawks, Alfred Hitchcock, Cary Grant, James Stewart, Audrey Hepburn, Jean Renoir, Frank Sinatra, Marlene Dietrich and Jerry Lewis.
16
Has a signed photograph from Cybill Shepherd hanging in the study of his New York City apartment signed "Dear Sven, I wouldn't be here without you." "Sven" is short for "Svengali", the musician in George L. Du Maurier's Bohemian novel "Trilby" who, through hypnosis, teaches the eponymous heroine to sing and controls her singing for his own purposes.
17
Biography in: John Wakeman, editor. "World Film Directors, Volume Two, 1945- 1985". Pages 133-138. New York: The H.W. Wilson Company, 1988.
18
He was offered the chance to direct The Godfather (1972), but turned down producer Robert Evans, as did several other directors. It was only then that Evans hired Francis Ford Coppola.
19
Was meant to direct Duck, You Sucker (1971) with Sergio Leone producing, but backed out at the last minute due to his fear of such a large production. Leone stepped in and directed it himself.
Married to Dorothy Stratten's sister Louise (b. 1968) from 1988-2001
23
His mother was from an Austrian Jewish family and his father was of Serbian descent.
24
Boyfriend of Playboy Playmate of the year Dorothy Stratten (1980) who was murdered by her estranged jealous husband. Wrote a book about Stratten soon after.
$10 Million
