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George Stevens
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<p>George Cooper Stevens (December 18, 1904 – March 8, 1975) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter and cinematographer. He won the <a href="/facts/Academy_Award_for_Best_Director/3TuCQ2Sd">Academy Award for Best Director</a> for <i><a href="/facts/A_Place_in_the_Sun_(1951_film)/Uu0qWeHF">A Place in the Sun</a></i> (1951) and <i><a href="/facts/Giant_(1956_film)/LuAIn51J">Giant</a></i> (1956). </p><p>Born in Oakland, California, George Stevens worked in his parents' West Coast touring stock theater company as a child actor and stage manager. When cinema was replacing live theater, Stevens's parents relocated to <a href="/facts/Los_Angeles/pyXpYEX9">Los Angeles</a>. At the age of 17, Stevens was hired as an assistant cameraman, working on several <a href="/facts/Western_film/KvoYduYT">Western</a> films produced by <a href="/facts/Hal_Roach/Qg2hVlTC">Hal Roach</a>. Within three years, Stevens became a cameraman on the <i><a href="/facts/Our_Gang/P95ESEXV">Our Gang</a></i> and Harry Langdon comedies. Impressed with Stevens's visual knowledge, Roach then appointed him to direct installments of <i><a href="/facts/The_Boy_Friends/04kzhEG2">The Boy Friends</a></i> series. </p><p>Stevens next moved to <a href="/facts/Universal_Pictures/2xUCraUP">Universal Pictures</a> and then to <a href="/facts/RKO_Pictures/L39uAqh7">RKO Pictures</a>. There, he directed several genre films, including <i><a href="/facts/Alice_Adams_(1935_film)/DSuX2jR3">Alice Adams</a></i> starring <a href="/facts/Katharine_Hepburn/fKvRzBAP">Katharine Hepburn</a>; <i><a href="/facts/Swing_Time_(film)/cINzEgaz">Swing Time</a></i> starring <a href="/facts/Fred_Astaire/BX0hAvft">Fred Astaire</a> and <a href="/facts/Ginger_Rogers/xpdsDVPB">Ginger Rogers</a>; and <i><a href="/facts/Gunga_Din_(film)/UPUXtoWC">Gunga Din</a></i> starring <a href="/facts/Cary_Grant/Gn21qqeg">Cary Grant</a>. Stevens was loaned to MGM to direct <i><a href="/facts/Woman_of_the_Year/tc8CvKbM">Woman of the Year</a></i> (1942) based on Hepburn's suggestion, whereby she was paired with <a href="/facts/Spencer_Tracy/Yq2gJXV8">Spencer Tracy</a> for the first time. He also directed <i><a href="/facts/The_Talk_of_the_Town_(1942_film)/hucfmyKV">The Talk of the Town</a></i> (1942) and <i><a href="/facts/The_More_the_Merrier/senUyEPN">The More the Merrier</a></i> (1943). </p><p>In 1941, the United States entered <a href="/facts/World_War_II/2efV5L1U">World War II</a>, in which Stevens joined the <a href="/facts/U.S._Army_Signal_Corps/xAqQnv2w">U.S. Army Signal Corps</a> and headed a film unit. Using his personal <a href="/facts/16_mm_film/1p5sxNbe">16 mm film</a> camera, Stevens shot color footage of the <a href="/facts/Liberation_of_Paris/tetJGznW">Liberation of Paris</a> and the entry of American soldiers into the <a href="/facts/Dachau_concentration_camp/4J2trGtn">Dachau concentration camp</a>. Stevens returned to Hollywood and directed more serious films, starting with <i><a href="/facts/I_Remember_Mama_(film)/rEUyL6eS">I Remember Mama</a></i> (1948). </p><p>Between 1951 to 1956, Stevens directed his <i>American Trilogy</i>, which includes <i>A Place in the Sun</i> (1951), <i><a href="/facts/Shane_(film)/g3VACnx7">Shane</a></i> (1953), and <i>Giant</i> (1956). He next directed widescreen biographical films, <i><a href="/facts/The_Diary_of_Anne_Frank_(1959_film)/MWgLvrHc">The Diary of Anne Frank</a></i> (1959) and <i><a href="/facts/The_Greatest_Story_Ever_Told/y3zzS79k">The Greatest Story Ever Told</a></i> (1965). His final film was <i><a href="/facts/The_Only_Game_in_Town_(1970_film)/WIaGeoy4">The Only Game in Town</a></i> (1970) starring <a href="/facts/Elizabeth_Taylor/Ur7qy9lK">Elizabeth Taylor</a> and <a href="/facts/Warren_Beatty/3RAa44Kn">Warren Beatty</a>. Stevens died on March 8, 1975, at the age of 70. </p>