Bud Greenspan
Universal Sports has announced plans for a nine-night celebration of legendary sports filmmaker Bud Greenspan, who passed away on Christmas Day at age 84 after battling Parkinson's disease. Greenspan is best known for his series of documentaries chronicling the Olympic Games, many of which are rarely seen anymore and are not currently available on DVD.
The tribute, which Universal Sports is dubbing "Nine Nights of Glory," begins Saturday (Jan. 1, 9/8c) with the iconic 16 Days of Glory: Los Angeles '84. "Bud Greenspan ...
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Bud Greenspan
Bud Greenspan, the Emmy-winning documentary filmmaker who chronicled the journeys of Olympic athletes for six decades, has died. He was 84.
Greenspan died Saturday in his New York City home from complications of Parkinson's disease, according to The Associated Press.
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Mary Lou Retton by Diane Johnson/ WireImage.com
Bud Greenspan has made a career of turning the camera on athletes, but tonight ESPN takes a look at the acclaimed sports documentarian himself. Bud Greenspan: At the Heart of the Games (Tuesday, May 6, 9 pm/ET, ESPN2) chronicles a career best known for the inspiring-without-being-too-schmalzy Sixteen Days of Glory Olympic-recap films. “When we talk about Olympic filmmaking, if there’s a Mount Rushmore, Bud’s head is the only one on it," says NBC's longtime Olympic host Bob Costas, who gives one of many testimonials in the film. Also interviewed are gymnast Mary Lou Retton, figure skater Brian Boitano and speed skater Bonnie Blair, all of whom were featured in Greenspan films. Greenspan and his army of filmmakers exhaustively trail an athlete, finding a way to gain intimate access, even within the mayhem of an Olympic venue. “One of Bud’s great skills, and he does it in victory and in defeat, is putting it into perspective without overdramatizing things," say...
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