Hal Ashby Biography

Fast Facts

• A screening of his "The Landlord" was used as a fieldtrip destination for The Story Project, which took students from The Neighborhood Youth Association to see the film and ask questions about it
• After moving to California as a young man, he found a job at a printing press at Universal Studios, which led to assistant film editing jobs at other studios
• Directed the first film to utilize the Steadicam, "Bound for Glory․"
• Many of the films he directed were about outsiders and wanderers exploring life
• Embraced the 1970s counterculture, growing his hair long and adopting vegetarianism
• Spent considerable time at a spartan beachfront residence in Malibu, Calif
• The success of his Vietnam War drama, "Coming Home," allowed him to open his own production company