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Stanley Kramer Biography

Birth Name:Stanley Earl Kramer

Birth Place:Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States

Profession Producer, Director

Fast Facts

  • Won a special NAACP honor in 1998 for his efforts to highlight and counteract racism
  • After growing up in poverty, a writing contest won him an internship at 20th Century Fox that opened doors for him in the movie industry
  • Quote: "That all probably had as profound an influence on me as any event on which I can base the things I believe in: my attitudes regarding the blacks; the freedom of teachers; world guilt and sectarian prejudice․ I never became any kind of evangelist because of those beliefs, but I tried to translate the drama of them into film․"
  • After his World War II service, which consisted of making training and industrial films in the states, ended, he had difficulty finding work, so he started his own production company and became one of the first successful independent filmmakers
  • During a period where escapism reigned in Hollywood, he dared to make films that explored hard-hitting social issues like ethnic bias and the use of atomic weapons, earning himself a reputation as "Hollywood's Conscience․"
  • He was a good student as a child, and his family had hoped he would apply his academics to law school
  • Intended to name one of his children after Spencer Tracy, but when the baby turned out to be a girl, he named her after Katharine Hepburn instead

Awards

  • 1953Oscar-Best Picture: nominated
  • 1955Oscar-Best Picture: nominated
  • 1958Golden Berlin Bear-: nominated
  • 1958DGA Award-Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures: nominated
  • 1958NYFCC Award-Best Director: winner
  • 1959Oscar-Best Picture: nominated
  • 1959Oscar-Best Director: nominated
  • 1959Bodil-Best American Film (Bedste amerikanske film): winner
  • 1959DGA Award-Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures: nominated
  • 1959Golden Globe-Best Director: nominated
  • 1959CEC Award-: winner
  • 1959Award of the City of Valladolid-: winner
  • 1960UN Award-: winner
  • 1960Youth Film Award-Best Feature Film Suitable for Young People: winner
  • 1960Golden Berlin Bear-: nominated
  • 1960Golden Globe-Best Director: nominated
  • 1961BAFTA Film Award-Best Film from any Source: nominated
  • 1961Blue Ribbon Award-Best Foreign Language Film: winner
  • 1962Oscar-Best Picture: nominated
  • 1962Oscar-Best Director: nominated
  • 1962Bodil-Best Non-European Film (Bedste ikke-europæiske film): winner
  • 1962David-Best Foreign Production (Migliore Produzione Straniera): winner
  • 1962DGA Award-Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures: nominated
  • 1962Golden Globe-Best Director: winner
  • 1962Silver Ribbon-Best Foreign Director (Regista del Miglior Film Straniero): winner
  • 1963Kinema Junpo Award-Best Foreign Language Film: nominated
  • 1966Oscar-Best Picture: nominated
  • 1968Oscar-Best Director: nominated
  • 1968Oscar-Best Picture: nominated
  • 1968David-Best Foreign Production (Migliore Produzione Straniera): winner
  • 1968DGA Award-Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures: nominated
  • 1968Golden Globe-Best Director: nominated
  • 1968Crystal Globe-Best Film: nominated
  • 1969UN Award-: winner
  • 1970Golden Globe-Best Director: nominated
  • 1971Interfilm Award - Recommendation-Competition: winner
  • 1971OCIC Award-Competition: winner
  • 1971Golden Berlin Bear-: nominated
  • 1973Golden Prize-: winner