Daniel Petrie

After serving In Canadas Armed Forces during WWII Daniel Petrie traveled to New York to get an MA from Columbia University While at Columbia he ended up being cast for the Broadway play iKiss Them For Mei An offBroadway acting role followed as did the road tour of the play iI Remember Mamai The tour ended in Chicago where he enrolled at Northwestern University as a doctoral candidate But the 1950s brought a surge in television production and Daniel moved away from acting He learned his craft as a director on live shows and prestigious productions of such classics as Mark Twains iThe Prince And The Pauperi iWuthering Heightsi which starred Richard Burton as Heathcliff iOliver Twisti with Eric Portman as Fagin and iTreasure Islandi in 1960 In that year he made his movie debut with iThe Bramble Bushi starring Richard Burton as a villainous doctor But it was his second feature iA Raisin In The Suni that established his reputation Based on a Broadway hit about a black family living in a predominantly white neighbourhood the movie starring Ruby Dee and Sidney Poitier was a pioneering work for its time and it won Daniel Petrie the Gary Cooper Award for best direction His career spanned more than 50 years earning him eight Emmy Awards His very personal story iThe Bay Boyi which he wrote and directed won six a hrefhttpwwwnorthernstarscaawardsarchivegenieawardsGenie Awardsa For iThe Dollmakeri Jane Fonda picked up an Emmy and he was given a Directors Guild of America Award Watch a hrefhttpwwwdgaorgCraftVisualHistoryInterviewsDanielPetrieaspx targetblankan interviewa with Daniel Petrie on the Directors Guild of America website Daniel Petrie died of cancer at his home in Los Angelesbrbrbr