Tom Gries Biography
Born: December 20, 1922
Died: January 03, 1977
A former Chicago newspaper reporter, Tom Gries came to Hollywood in the immediate postwar years as a talent agent. He entered films as a producer and scripter of both fictional and factual features, then spent several years writing TV scripts. Turning director in the early 1960s, Gries won an Emmy for his handling of "Who Do You Kill?," an episode of the dramatic TV series East_Side_West_Side. Gries' feature-film directorial debut came about when he refused to sell his script for the austere western Will_Penny (1968) to Paramount unless he was allowed to call the shots on the set. Developing a harmonious relationship with Will_Penny star Charlton Heston, Gries went on to direct Heston's Number_One (1969) and The_Hawaiians (1970). An inveterate workaholic, 54-year-old Tom Gries died of a heart attack while editing his Muhammad Ali biopic The_Greatest (1977). Hal Erickson, Rovi
Great Film Moments:
- In Theaters
- This Week
- Coming Soon
- New on DVD
Browse More Celebrity:
