Lynn Stalmaster

{{Infobox person

| name = Lynn Stalmaster

| image =

| image_size =

| caption =

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1927|11|17}}

| birth_place = Omaha, Nebraska, U.S.

| death_date = {{death date and age|2021|2|12|1927|11|17}}

| death_place = Los Angeles, California, U.S.

| education = MA, UCLA TFT 1952{{cite web |url=https://myemail.constantcontact.com/UCLA-TFT-Alumni-Newsletter-for-December-2--2016.html?soid=1122865384265&aid=c3q1uLs_G-U |title=Lynn Stalmaster Accepts First Oscar for Casting |last=Green |first=Noah |date=December 2, 2016 |website=UCLA TFT |access-date=December 16, 2019 |quote=Congratulations to TFT alumnus Lynn Stalmaster (MA '52), ...}}

| occupation = Casting director

| yearsactive = 1950–2006

| spouse = {{plainlist|

{{marriage|Gloria McGough|1956||end=divorced}}
{{marriage|Shirley A. Alexander|1962|1972|end=divorced}}

}}

| children = 2

| awards = AMPAS Honorary 2016

}}

Lynn Arlen Stalmaster (November 17, 1927 – February 12, 2021) was an American casting director. He was noted as the first casting director to be conferred an Academy Award, having received an Honorary Oscar in 2016.

Early life

Stalmaster was born in Omaha, Nebraska, on November 17, 1927.{{cite news|title=Lynn Stalmaster Dies: Academy Award-Winning Casting Director Was 93|url=https://deadline.com/2021/02/lynn-stalmaster-dies-academy-award-winning-casting-director-was-93-1234693453/|first=Bruce|last=Haring|date=February 12, 2021|accessdate=February 13, 2021|magazine=Deadline Hollywood}} He was the son of Estelle (Lapidus) and Irvin A. Stalmaster, a lawyer who became a judge.{{Cite web|title=Lynn Stalmaster|url=https://www.oscars.org/governors-awards/2016/lynn-stalmaster|date=November 3, 2016|website=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|language=en|access-date=May 31, 2020}} Irvin was the first Jew, as well as the youngest person, to be appointed to a Nebraska district judgeship.[http://www.jewishomaha.org/jewish-press/2014/07/hollywood-insiders-return-home-for-jewish-reunion/ The Jewish Press (Omaha): "Hollywood insiders return Home for Jewish Reunion" by Sherrie Saag] July 30, 2014[https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/49944979/ The Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle: "Young Jewish Lawyer appointed Judge of Dist. Court, Nebraska"] April 27, 1928 – Page 17 He was also active in the local Jewish community, serving as president of the Omaha B'nai B'rith.[http://www.jta.org/1928/04/17/archive/stalmaster-is-appointed-judge-in-nebraska-court Jewish Telegraph Agency: "Stalmaster is Appointed Judge in Nebraska Court"], April 17, 1928 Lynn Stalmaster's younger brother is actor Hal Stalmaster (born 1940), best known for his starring role in the Disney film Johnny Tremain.[https://allthingsliberty.com/2014/02/10-questions-with-hal-stalmaster-johnny-tremain/ Interview with Hal Stalmaster]

Stalmaster initially attended Dundee Elementary School in Omaha's Dundee–Happy Hollow Historic District. In order to ameliorate his severe asthma, his family later relocated to Beverly Hills, California, where he attended Beverly Hills High School. There he overcame his shyness by immersing himself in theatre and radio. After serving in the U.S. Army during World War II, he studied theater arts at the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, obtaining a Master of Arts in 1952.[https://oscars.org/governors-awards/2016/lynn-stalmaster Oscar Biographies: "Lynn Stalmaster"] retrieved July 22, 2017

Career

Stalmaster got his first job in show business as an actor, appearing in the war movies The Steel Helmet (1951), The Flying Leathernecks (1951), and the TV series Big Town.{{cite news|title=Lynn Stalmaster, Legendary Casting Director, Dies at 93|url=https://variety.com/2021/film/news/lynn-stalmaster-dead-93-casting-director-1234907610/|first=Cynthia|last=Littleton|date=February 12, 2021|accessdate=February 13, 2021|magazine=Variety}} As a fail-safe plan, he was employed by Grosse-Krasne as a production assistant. He subsequently became casting director after the incumbent retired,{{cite news|title=Lynn Stalmaster, Legendary Casting Director, Dies at 93|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/lynn-stalmaster-dead-legendary-casting-760716|first=Mike|last=Barnes|date=February 12, 2021|access-date=February 13, 2021|magazine=The Hollywood Reporter}} and went on to cast five on-air series.

After several years in that capacity, Stalmaster became an independent casting director. He established himself quickly as a solid casting director, finding steady work in both television and motion pictures. He was credited with casting more than 60 movies of the decade, among them; Fiddler on the Roof, Harold and Maude, The Cowboys, Deliverance, Rollerball, Silver Streak, Black Sunday, Coming Home, Convoy, The Rose, Superman and Being There.

Stalmaster was responsible for casting TV shows such as Gunsmoke, The Untouchables, and My Favorite Martian. He was also a part of Academy Award winning movies such as In the Heat of the Night, The Thomas Crown Affair, The Right Stuff, and Brian De Palma's The Untouchables.

Stalmaster was the first casting director to receive credit on a separate card in the main titles of a feature film, starting with The Thomas Crown Affair in 1968. His name subsequently appeared in the main titles of over 180 films, credited as "Casting by Lynn Stalmaster."{{Cite web|title=Lynn Stalmaster, Pioneering Casting Director, Now in Spotlight at 86|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/race/lynn-stalmaster-pioneering-casting-director-695670|website=The Hollywood Reporter|date=April 13, 2014|language=en|access-date=May 31, 2020}}

Later life

Stalmaster was conferred the Career Achievement Award by the Casting Society of America (CSA) in 2003. Thirteen years later, in November 2016, he received an Academy Honorary Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.{{Cite web|title=Academy Announces Jackie Chan, Anne Coates, Lynn Stalmaster, and Frederick Wiseman will receive 2016 Governors Awards|url=https://oscar.go.com/news/oscar-news/academy-announces-jackie-chan-3-others-will-receive-2016-governors-awards|website=oscar.go.com|access-date=May 31, 2020}}{{Cite web|title=Lynn Stalmaster to accept first Academy Award for casting|url=https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/lynn-stalmaster-to-accept-first-academy-award-for-casting/|date=November 10, 2016|website=The Seattle Times|language=en-US|access-date=May 31, 2020}} He was the first casting director to receive an Academy Award.{{Cite web|title=Casting Directors and the Academy: Why Lynn Stalmaster's Honorary Oscar Matters|url=https://www.indiewire.com/2016/11/honary-oscar-lynn-stalmaster-casting-directors-1201744901/|last=O'Falt|first=Chris|date=November 9, 2016|website=IndieWire|language=en|access-date=May 31, 2020}} Two years later, the Casting Society of America began honoring entertainment professionals with the Lynn Stalmaster Award for Career Achievement. Recipients include Annette Bening,{{Cite web|title=Annette Bening To Receive Career Achievement Artios Award|url=https://deadline.com/2016/11/annette-bening-artios-awards-2016-career-achievement-1201861931/|last=Hipes|first=Patrick|date=November 30, 2016|website=Deadline|language=en|access-date=May 31, 2020}} Laura Dern,{{Cite web|title=Artios Awards Career Honors To Laura Dern, Tina Fey & Others|url=https://deadline.com/2018/12/artios-awards-2019-career-honors-laura-dern-tiny-fey-four-casting-society-of-america-1202512927/|last=Pedersen|first=Erik|date=December 3, 2018|website=Deadline|language=en|access-date=May 31, 2020}} and Geena Davis.{{Cite web|title=Artios Awards To Honor Geena Davis, Audra McDonald & More|url=https://deadline.com/2019/12/artios-awards-2020-geena-davis-audra-mcdonald-1202807988/|last=Hipes|first=Patrick|date=December 12, 2019|website=Deadline|language=en|access-date=May 31, 2020}}

Stalmaster died on the morning of February 12, 2021, at his home in Los Angeles. He was 93.

Partial filmography

Screaming Eagles, 1956
The Invisible Boy, 1957
Trooper Hook, 1957
I Want to Live!, 1958{{cite web|url=https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/PersonDetails/102934|title=Lynn Stalmaster|publisher=American Film Institute|access-date=February 12, 2021}}
Pork Chop Hill, 1959
Inherit the Wind, 1960
West Side Story, 1961
Judgment at Nuremberg, 1961{{cite web|url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6adb5558|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171105095640/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6adb5558|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 5, 2017|title=Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)|publisher=British Film Institute|access-date=February 12, 2021}}{{cite web|url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/22842/judgment-at-nuremberg#credits|title=Judgment at Nuremberg (1961) – Credits|publisher=Turner Classic Movies|access-date=February 12, 2021}}
Two for the Seesaw, 1962
A Child Is Waiting, 1963{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/lynn_stalmaster|title=Lynn Stalmaster|website=Rotten Tomatoes|access-date=February 12, 2021}}
Toys in the Attic, 1963{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0jqODQAAQBAJ&pg=PA163|title=The Films of George Roy Hill, rev. ed.|publisher=McFarland|date=August 31, 2010|last=Horton|first=Andrew|page=191|isbn=9780786446841}}
Lady in a Cage, 1964
Kiss Me, Stupid, 1964{{cite web|url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2ba1bb5a87|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171013071823/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2ba1bb5a87|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 13, 2017|title=Lynn Stalmaster|publisher=British Film Institute|access-date=February 12, 2021}}
The Greatest Story Ever Told, 1965
The Hallelujah Trail, 1965
A Rage to Live, 1965
The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming, 1966
The Fortune Cookie, 1966
Return of the Seven, 1966
Cast a Giant Shadow, 1966
In the Heat of the Night, 1967
Hour of the Gun, 1967
Fitzwilly, 1967
The Scalphunters, 1968
The Thomas Crown Affair, 1968
The Killing of Sister George, 1968
The Stalking Moon, 1968
Yours, Mine and Ours, 1968
The Bridge at Remagen, 1969
What Ever Happened to Aunt Alice?, 1969
They Shoot Horses, Don't They?, 1969
Viva Max, 1969
Too Late the Hero, 1970
They Call Me Mister Tibbs!, 1970
Monte Walsh, 1970
Lawman, 1971
Valdez Is Coming, 1971
The Grissom Gang, 1971
Fiddler on the Roof, 1971
Harold and Maude, 1971
The Cowboys, 1972
Pocket Money, 1972
The Wrath of God, 1972
Deliverance, 1972
Junior Bonner, 1972
Jeremiah Johnson, 1972
The New Centurions, 1972
The Mechanic, 1972
The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean, 1972
Lolly-Madonna XXX, 1973
Scorpio, 1973
The Iceman Cometh, 1973
The Last Detail, 1973
Sleeper, 1973
Cinderella Liberty, 1973
Rhinoceros, 1974
Billy Two Hats, 1974
Conrack, 1974
Mandingo, 1975
Rollerball, 1975
Silver Streak, 1976
Bound for Glory, 1976
Black Sunday, 1977
New York, New York, 1977
The Other Side of Midnight, 1977
Coming Home, 1978
The Fury, 1978
Foul Play, 1978
Go Tell the Spartans, 1978
Convoy, 1978
Superman, 1978
Being There, 1979
Stir Crazy, 1980{{cite web|url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/91435/stir-crazy#credits|title=Stir Crazy (1980) – Credits|publisher=Turner Classic Movies|access-date=February 13, 2021}}
Caveman, 1981{{cite web|url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/17485/caveman#credits|title=Caveman (1981) – Credits|publisher=Turner Classic Movies|access-date=February 13, 2021}}
First Blood, 1982
Tootsie, 1982
Airplane II: The Sequel, 1982
The Right Stuff, 1983
Supergirl, 1984
Jagged Edge, 1985
Santa Claus: The Movie, 1985
9½ Weeks, 1986
Spaceballs, 1987
The Untouchables, 1987
Weekend at Bernie's, 1989
See No Evil, Hear No Evil, 1989
Casualties of War, 1989
Crazy People, 1990
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze, 1991
Stay Tuned, 1992
Clifford, 1994
To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday, 1996
Battlefield Earth, 2000