William Kronick
{{short description|American film director}}
{{Infobox person
| name =
| image = William Kronick.jpg
| alt =
| caption = Kronick on location with Richard Burton during the filming of To the Ends of the Earth.
| birth_name =
| birth_date =
| birth_place = Amsterdam, New York, US
| death_date =
| death_place =
| nationality =
| other_names =
| known_for =
| education = Columbia University
| occupation = {{flatlist|
- Film writer
- director
- producer
- novelist}}
}}
William Kronick (born 1934) is an American film and television writer, director and producer. He worked in the film industry from 1960 to 2000, when he segued into writing novels.
Biography
Born to European emigrants, William Kronick
{{cite web|title=Producer is Vital Part of Plimpton Specials|work=The Titusville Herald|publisher=Dickinson Newspaper Services, Inc.|accessdate=15 May 2014|url=http://www.newspaperarchive.com/SiteMap/FreePdfPreview.aspx?img=105947631|date=22 May 1971|page=1}}{{cite web|title=Producer is Vital Part of Plimpton Specials|work=The Titusville Herald|publisher=Dickinson Newspaper Services, Inc.|accessdate=15 May 2014|url=http://www.newspaperarchive.com/SiteMap/FreePdfPreview.aspx?img=102837661|date=22 May 1971|page=2}} grew up in Amsterdam, New York. He attended Columbia College where he was active in the Columbia Players’ stage productions. He also helped form The Gilbert and Sullivan Society at Barnard College.
After graduation Kronick was drafted into the U.S. Navy where he became a Photographer's Mate. During a North Atlantic exercise in Stockholm, Sweden Kronick met film and theater director Alf Sjoberg{{cite web|title=Alf Sjöberg|url=http://www.ingmarbergman.se/universe.asp?guid=2B363487-1900-4C4A-9BF9-1749E5F3DAE3&LanCD=EN|work=Ingmar Bergman Face to Face|publisher=Stiftelsen Ingmar Bergman|accessdate=23 January 2012}} who arranged for Kronick, once out of the Navy, to apprentice with Ingmar Bergman on his next film The Magician.{{cite web|title=The Magician|url=http://www.ingmarbergman.se/page.asp?guid=A86D37C9-3CD6-49E3-817B-CDE2580C79A1|work=Ingmar Bergman Face to Face|publisher=Stiftelsen Ingmar Bergman|accessdate=23 January 2012}}
Returning to New York Kronick found a job as Production Assistant with Louis de Rochemont Associates.{{cite web|title=The Complete Films of Louis de Rochemont|url=http://seacoastnh.com/louis/filmography.html|accessdate=24 January 2012|author=JDR}} So began his professional career in motion pictures.
Kronick's first film was a twenty-four-minute comedy, A Bowl of Cherries.{{cite web|last=|first=|date=15 April 1961|title=The Easy Way - Movies|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1368&dat=19610415&id=BjIxAAAAIBAJ&sjid=NhEEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5248,2722963|accessdate=24 January 2012|work=The Milwaukee Sentinel|publisher=The Milwaukee Sentinel}} The film, which played in a thousand art theaters in the U.S. and Europe, was seen by TV documentary producer, David L. Wolper.{{cite web|title=David L. Wolper Biography|url=http://www.davidlwolper.com/|work=Official Website of Producer David L. Wolper|accessdate=24 January 2012}} He offered Kronick the producing/directing/writing position on a new reality series, Story of….
During his long career, Kronick would make some of the highest-rated Network Specials,{{cite web|title=Credit List for William Kronick|url=http://www.davidlwolper.com/shows/CreditList.cfm?nameID=2326|work=Official Website of Producer David L. Wolper|accessdate=24 January 2012}} including Alaska! (National Geographic), Plimpton! and Mysteries of the Great Pyramid.(1 April 1977). [https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/31247559/ A 'documentary' is seldom objective], Corpus Christi Caller Times (noting that Kronick "specializes" in the "one-subject show" as "documentary" format and noting that Mysteries of the Great Pyramid was debuting on April 20, 1977)(28 April 1977). [https://newspaperarchive.com/lethbridge-herald-apr-28-1977-p-11/ ABC-TV maintains No 1. ratings], Lethbridge Herald (Listing Mysteries of the Great Pyramid as the 12th most watched prime time television program of the prior week) He directed The Five-Hundred Pound Jerk, a popular Movie-of-the-Week.
His first feature, independently financed, was A Likely Story{{cite web|title=Dublin Murders Release|url=http://www.movie-release.net/d/dublin_murders/|work=Movie-Release.net|accessdate=24 January 2012}} (a.k.a. Horowitz in Dublin) filmed entirely in Ireland. It featured Harvey Lembeck, Al Lettieri and Sinéad Cusack. Kronick also did long-term stints as Second Unit Director on features such as King Kong{{cite book|title=King Kong: the history of a movie icon from Fay Wray to Peter Jackson|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UPXbsJLVgCcC&dq=King+Kong++william+kronick&pg=PT158|publisher=Hal Leonard Corporation|accessdate=24 January 2012|author=Ray Morton|year = 2005|isbn = 9781557836694}} (1976) and Flash Gordon{{cite web|title=Flash Gordon (1980)|url=http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/17730/Flash-Gordon/details|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090629134651/http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/17730/Flash-Gordon/details|url-status=dead|archive-date=29 June 2009|department=Movies & TV Dept.|work=The New York Times|date=2009|accessdate=24 January 2012}} (1980), on which he was responsible for many action and special effects sequences.
Another major film project was the feature-length documentary To The Ends Of The Earth,{{cite web|title=TRANSGLOBE EXPEDITION 1979 - 1982|url=http://www.transglobe-expedition.org/page/news|work=Tranglobe - News|accessdate=24 January 2012}} which recorded the unique three-year expedition of three Englishmen who set out to circumnavigate the globe, crossing both the South and North Poles without leaving the surface of the earth. Known as the Transglobe Expedition, Prince Charles was its patron with Richard Burton narrating and hosting the film.{{cite web |last1=McCallum |first1=Simon |title=Poles apart: 5 lesser-known polar exploration films |url=https://www.bfi.org.uk/lists/poles-apart-5-lesser-known-polar-exploration-films |website=BFI |access-date=17 December 2022 |date=2022}} Kronick received a Special Certificate of Merit from the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences for this film.
He continued to produce, write and direct Network and Cable specials until 2000, when he turned to writing novels. To date he has completed six contemporary morality tales dealing mainly with film and theater.{{cite web|title=William Kronick|url=http://bookstore.authorhouse.com/AdvancedSearch/Default.aspx?SearchTerm=william+kronick|work=Author House|accessdate=24 January 2012}}
He has been married and divorced twice and has a son, Max. Kronick resides in Los Angeles.
Career
= Filmography=
Directing Credits
| class="wikitable" | |
| Year | Show {{cite book|title=Directors Guild of America Directory of Members|year=2011|publisher=Directors Guild of America|pages=346}}{{cite book|title=Writers Guild of America Membership Directory|year=1989–1990|publisher=Writers Guild of America|pages=224}}{{cite web|title=William Kronick|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0472182/|work=IMDB|accessdate=24 January 2012}} |
|---|---|
| 1999 | The Man Who Makes Things Happen: David L. Wolper |
| 1991 | The Journey Back: Professionals Recover From Addiction |
| 1988 | The World's Greatest Stunts: A Tribute to Hollywood Stuntmen |
| 1987 | The Ultimate Stuntman: A Tribute to Dar Robinson |
| 1983 | To the Ends of the Earth |
| 1983 | Ripley's Believe It Or Not! |
| 1980 | Flash Gordon (Second Unit Director) |
| 1977 | Mysteries of the Great Pyramid |
| 1976 | King Kong (Second Unit Director) |
| 1973 | A Likely Story (a.k.a. Horowitz in Dublin) |
| 1973 | The 500 Pound Jerk |
| 1970-72 | Plimpton! Specials |
| 1970 | Flap (Second Unit Director) |
| 1969 | The Bridge at Remagen (Second Unit Director) |
| 1967 | National Geographic Special: Alaska! |
| 1965 | Time-Life Special: The Class of '49 |
| 1965 | Race for the Moon |
| 1964 | Krebiozen and Cancer: Thirteen Years of Bitter Conflict |
| 1964 | Hollywood and the Stars: On Location: Night of the Iguana |
| 1962-63 | Story Of... |
| 1961 | A Bowl of Cherries |
Writing Credits
Producing Credits
=Novels=
[[File:What_Katie_Said_by_William_Kronick,_art_by_Cathie_Sacho.jpg|none|thumb|upright=1|
What Katie Said
Kronick's latest novel
Art by Cathie Sacho]]
[[File:Art Of Self-Deception by William Kronick, art by Cathie Sacho.jpg|none|thumb|upright=1|
The Art of Self-Deception
Art by Cathie Sacho]]
| class="wikitable" | |
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 2015 | What Katie Said |
| 2011 | The Art of Self-Deception |
| 2008 | All Stars Die |
| 2006 | N.Y./L.A. |
| 2005 | Cooley Wyatt |
| 2004 | The Cry of Sirens |
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|0472182}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kronick, William}}
Category:American television producers
Category:Film directors from New York (state)