Allen Baron
{{short description|American film director}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Allen Baron
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1927|04|14}}
| birth_place = New York City, New York, U.S.
| occupation = Actor, film and television director
| known_for = Blast of Silence
}}
Allen Baron (born April 14, 1927){{cite web|url=https://www.indiewire.com/gallery/oldest-living-directors-classic-filmmakers/|work=IndieWire|title=The Oldest Living Directors, from Norman Lear to Elaine May|date=December 1, 2022|last1=Foreman|first1=Alison|last2=Brueggmann|first2=Tom|archive-url=https://archive.today/20231210191921/https://www.indiewire.com/gallery/oldest-living-directors-classic-filmmakers/the-human-stain-director-robert-benton-on-the-set-2003-c-miramax-courtesy-everett-collection/|archive-date=December 10, 2023|url-status=live}} is an American television and film director, actor, and comic book artist. He wrote, directed, and starred in the 1961 film Blast of Silence.[https://screenanarchy.com/2023/12/blast-of-silence-blu-ray-review-a-cult-late-noir-gem.html BLAST OF SILENCE Blu-Ray Review: A Cult Late Noir Gem Remastered - ScreenAnarchy]
Biography
=Early life=
Baron was born and raised in the Brooklyn borough of New York City to Polish and Russian immigrant parents.{{cite web|url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/10217%7C11338/Allen-Baron/#biography|work=Turner Classic Movies|title=Allen Baron Biography|access-date=December 10, 2023}} He lived on Logan Street and Sutter Avenue in his youth, which saw him lose his father at 11 years old. He lived in Lewiston, Maine for a time with his mother before moving back to Brooklyn. He dropped out of high school at the age of 16 to get a job, which saw him work with the War Department, where he apparently unknowingly worked on the atomic bomb. He later joined the Navy a year later. At the age of 19, he enrolled at the School of Visual Arts, intending to become a visual artist, and later worked as a cartoonist, illustrator, and taxi driver. He first took an acting class at the age of 25, which also saw him meet his future wife.{{cite web | url=https://brooklynjewish.org/2022/06/brooklyn-native-longtime-hollywood-director-tells-recent-memoir/ | title=Brooklyn native and longtime Hollywood director tells all in recent memoir | date=6 June 2022 }}
=Career=
In his early 20s, Baron drew romance and science-fiction comic stories. Upon visiting a Paramount sound stage in the mid-1950s, he decided he wanted to work in films, and he became involved in theatrical acting. His film debut came with Cuban Rebel Girls (1959).
Baron is best known for writing and directing the 1961 film noir Blast of Silence, in which he also plays the lead role of the hitman. He also wrote and directed the 1964 film Terror in the City (alternate title Pie in the Sky), the 1972 film Outside In, and the 1982 film Foxfire Light with Leslie Nielsen and Tippi Hedren.{{AFI person|11338}}
For TV, Baron directed the movie The San Pedro Bums (1977), which was the pilot for the TV series The San Pedro Beach Bums.
Baron directed over 200 episodes of television shows, including multiple episodes of The Love Boat,{{Cite web |last=Maddaus |first=Gene |date=July 28, 2018 |title=TV Director Allen Baron Accused of Sexually Harassing Assistant |url=https://variety.com/2018/biz/news/allen-baron-sexual-harassment-1202888958/ |access-date=April 6, 2023 |website=Variety |language=en-US}} Charlie's Angels, Arnie, Love, American Style, Room 222, The New Temperatures Rising Show, House Calls, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, and Run, Joe, Run. His last directing credit came in 1986.
As of 2013, he resided in Beverly Hills, California, spending his time painting. In that same year, Blast of Silence: A Memoir, a book detailing his experiences as a filmmaker, was published.
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|id=0056191}}
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Category:American television directors
Category:Film directors from Brooklyn
Category:School of Visual Arts alumni
Category:20th-century American illustrators
Category:21st-century American illustrators
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