For the Canadian psychologist, see Harry Hurwitz (psychologist).
Harry L. Hurwitz
Birth dateJanuary 27, 1938
Birth placeNew York City, United States
Death dateSeptember 21, 1995 (aged 57)
Death placeLos Angeles, California, United States
OccupationFilm director · screenwriter · producer · artist
Years active1971–1994
SpouseJoy Hurwitz[1]

Harry Hurwitz (January 27, 1938 – September 21, 1995) was an American film director, screenwriter, actor and producer.[2]

Biography

Hurwitz attended The High School of Music & Art and New York University, where he received a B.S. in 1960 and an M.A. in 1962. Before becoming a director, Hurwitz worked intermittently as a drawing, painting and filmmaking instructor at various institutions, including New York University, the State University of New York at New Paltz, Cooper Union, Parsons School of Design, Queens College, Purchase College, the New York Institute of Technology and the Pratt Institute. His directorial debut film The Projectionist included the first acting role for actor/comedian Rodney Dangerfield.[3] He used the pseudonym Harry Tampa for what he called his "disco vampire movies."

In the early 1970s, Hurwitz was an artist-in-residence at the University of South Florida in Tampa. It was at that time that he produced the black-and-white serigraphic self-portrait that briefly (and inexplicably, as the film is set in Los Angeles) appears on the walls of the main character May's (Susan Dey) apartment in the 1986 film Echo Park.

Painting

As a painter, Hurwitz has work in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the National Gallery of Art, the Corcoran Gallery of Art (now defunct) and the Philadelphia Museum of Art.[1]

Filmography

TitleYearDirectorWriterProducerRoleNotes
The Projectionist1970Friendly Usherdirectorial debut, also editor
Chaplinesque, My Life and Hard Times1972documentary film
Richard1972
Fairy Tales1978as Harry Tampa
Auditions1978The Director (uncredited)as Harry Tampa
Nocturna: Granddaughter of Dracula1979as Harry Tampa
Safari 30001980
Under the Rainbow1981
The Comeback Trail1982also editor
The Big Score1983
The Rosebud Beach Hotel1984
Once a Hero1987unknown episodes
That's Adequate1989
Fleshtone1994

References

  1. ^ "Harry Hurwitz, a Screenwriter, Film Director and Painter, 57". The New York Times. October 11, 1995. Retrieved June 7, 2016.
  2. ^ "Harry Hurwitz". The New York Times. September 21, 1995. Archived from the original on January 30, 2013. Retrieved 22 August 2012.
  3. ^ Brennan, Sandra (September 21, 1995). "Harry Hurwitz > Overview". AllMovie. Retrieved 11 September 2010.