Jerome Hill
American film director (1905–1972)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
James Jerome Hill II (March 2, 1905 – November 21, 1972) was an American filmmaker and artist known for his documentary and experimental films, one of which won him an Academy Award.
March 2, 1905
Jerome Hill | |
|---|---|
| Born | James Jerome Hill II March 2, 1905 Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Died | November 21, 1972 (aged 67) New York City, U.S. |
| Education | Yale University |
| Occupations | Painter, composer, director, writer, producer |
| Known for | Ski Flight (1937) Grandma Moses (1950) Albert Schweitzer (1957) Film Portrait (1972) |
| Parent(s) | Louis W. Hill, Maud Van Cortlandt Taylor |
| Relatives | James J. Hill (grandfather) Louis Warren Jr. (brother) |
| Awards | 1957 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature[1] |
Career
Hill was the child of railroad executive Louis W. Hill.
He was educated at Yale, where he drew covers, caricatures and cartoons for campus humor magazine The Yale Record.[2]
His 1950 documentary Grandma Moses, written and narrated by Archibald MacLeish, was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Short Subject, Two-reel. He won the 1958 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature for his film Albert Schweitzer.[3]
In addition to making films, he was a painter and composer.[2]
His last film, the autobiographical Film Portrait (1972), was added to the National Film Registry in 2003.
Philanthropy
Hill founded the Jerome Foundation, which gives grants to non-profit arts organizations and artists in Minnesota and New York City. Hill started it as the Avon Foundation in 1964, but after his death it was renamed the Jerome Foundation.[4] Among the projects the foundation funds is the American Composers Forum's Jerome Fund for New Music, which supports the creation of new works of music with grants to composers.[5]
Hill also founded the Camargo Foundation in 1967, which administers a residency program for artists and scholars in Cassis, France.[2]
Personal life
Hill was a stakeholder in Sugar Bowl Ski Resort. He had a chalet built at Sugar Bowl and, while living there, paid for and operated "The Magic Carpet", the first aerial tramway on the west coast.[6][7]
Filmography (as director)
- 1932 La cartomancienne
- 1937 Ski Flight, featuring Otto Lang
- 1950 Grandma Moses, written and narrated by Archibald MacLeish
- 1950 Cassis
- 1957 Albert Schweitzer, won Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature
- 1961 The Sand Castle with Mabel Mercer
- 1964 Open the Door and see all the People
- 1965 Magic Umbrella
- 1966 Death in the Forenoon
- 1968 The Artist's Friend
- 1969 Canaries
- 1969 Merry Christmas
- 1972 Film Portrait, added to the National Film Registry in 2003
- 1991 Carl G. Jung or Lapis Philosophorum (material from an abandoned project, shot 1950, edited and published by Jonas Mekas)