Robert Burgess Aldrich (1918 - 1983)

Born 9 Aug 1918 in Cranston, Providence, Rhode Island, United States

Ancestors

Died 5 Dec 1983 at age 65 in Los Angeles, California, United States

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Robert Aldrich is Notable.

Biography

Robert Aldrich ^[1][2]

BIRTH 9 Aug 1918 Cranston, Providence County, Rhode Island, USA

MARRIAGES

• Harriet Foster ​(m. 1941; div. 1965)​
• Sibylle Siegfried ​(m. 1966⁠–⁠1983)

CHILDREN William McLaughry Aldrich^[3] 1944–2006

DEATH 5 Dec 1983 (aged 65) Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California, USA

BURIAL {https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/7975/forest-lawn-memorial-park Forest Lawn Memorial Park] Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles County, California, USA Show Map

PLOT Murmuring Trees Section, Map #G27, Lot 5153, Single Ground Interment Space 4

BIOGRAPHY

Robert Aldrich, film director and producer, was born in Cranston, Providence County, Rhode Island^[4]on August 19, 1918.^[4]He was the son of Edward Burgess Aldrich and his wife Lora Elsie (Lawson) Aldrich; grandson of U. S. Senator Nelson Wilmarth Aldrich and his wife Abigail Pierce Truman (Chapman) Aldrich.^[5]

He received his education at the Moses Brown School in Providence, Rhode Island and the University of Virginia.^[4]He dropped out of college^[5]and headed for Hollywood in 1941^[4] and started working as a production clerk in the RKO Studio,^[4]working his way up to assistant director and associate producer.^[6]In 1953 he began directing his own films, beginning with "Big Leaguer."^[4]By establishing his own production company, Robert produced most of the films he directed.^[6]Desiring to make pictures that "audiences will want to see," Robert diverted from the direction of his mentors and prominent directors, Charlie Chaplin, Orson Welles and Jean Renoir and instead made films that generated controversy because of their violence and macabre.^[4]

"His greatest commercial success was "The Dirty Dozen," the story of 12 jailed felons who are freed to conduct a mission against the Germans in World War II.^[4]The film made $15 million within eight weeks of its release in 1967^[4] but its violence also generated controversy, a byproduct common to Mr. Aldrich's work."^[4]

Mr. Robert Aldrich was the head of the jury at the Berlin International Film Festival in 1959.^[6]From 1975 - 79 he was the President of the Directors Guild of America.^[6]He directed five different actors in Oscar-nominated performances who were: Victor Buono, Bette Davis, Agnes Moorehead, Ian Bannen and Jon Cassavetes.^[6]

In politics he was a left-wing Democrat who opposed US involvement in the Vietnam War.^[6]

Robert Aldrich died in December 5,^[6]1983^[4][6][7]of kidney failure at his home in Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California. He was 65 years of age. He was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles.^[8]His wife's name at the time of his death was Sibylle Siegfried.^[4]They had been married on November 25, 1966 at Los Angeles.^[9]He had four children from a previous marriage^[4]to Harriet Foster, from whom he was divorced in 1965.^[6]

Sources

1. ↑ Find a Grave https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/19544/robert-aldrich
2. ↑ Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Aldrich
3. ↑ Find a Grave https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/140624177/william-mclaughry-aldrich
4. ↑ ^{4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 4.12} Freedman, Samuel G. "Obituary." New York Times. December 7, 1983
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1} Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 6.8} IMDb
7. ↑ California Death Index, 1940-1997," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VG1S-825 : 26 November 2014), Robert Burgess Aldrich, 05 Dec 1983; Department of Public Health Services, Sacramento.
8. ↑ Find A Grave Memorial# 19544. photo present.
9. ↑ California Marriage Index, 1960-1985," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V6X3-6RL : 27 November 2014), Robert B Aldrich and Sibylle Siegfried, 25 Nov 1966; from "California, Marriage Index, 1960-1985," database and images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : 2007); citing Los Angeles City, California, Center of Health Statistics, California Department of Health Services, Sacramento.

• "California Death Index, 1940-1997," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VG1S-825 : 26 November 2014), Robert Burgess Aldrich, 05 Dec 1983; Department of Public Health Services, Sacramento.
• "California Marriage Index, 1960-1985," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V6X3-6RL : 27 November 2014), Robert B Aldrich and Sibylle Siegfried, 25 Nov 1966; from "California, Marriage Index, 1960-1985," database and images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : 2007); citing Los Angeles City, California, Center of Health Statistics, California Department of Health Services, Sacramento.
• IMDbsee bio for Robert Aldrich here
• Find A Grave Memorial# 19544. photo present.at find a grave.com
• Freedman, Samuel G. "Obituary." New York Times. December 7, 1983.see at nytimes.com
• Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Robert Aldrich.link

Acknowledgements

Research & Biography: Cheryl Aldrich Skordahl