Irvin Kershner
Irvin Kershner (born Isadore Kershner; April 29, 1923November 27, 2010) was an American director for film and television. Early in his career as a filmmaker he directed quirky, independent drama films, while working as a lecturer at the University of Southern California. Later, he began making high-budget blockbusters such as Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, the James Bond adaptation Never Say Never Again and RoboCop 2.
Also recorded as Isadore Kershner
Irvin Kershner

The Conmunity - Pop Culture Geek from Los Angeles, CA, USA · Star Wars Celebration V - Empire Strikes Back director Irvin Kershner sends a message to the Celebration V crowd · CC BY 2.0
- Name
- Irvin Kershner
- Birth Name
- Isadore Kershner
- Born
- 29 April 1923
- Birthplace
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
- Died
- 27 November 2010
- Place of death
- Los Angeles, California, U.S.
- Education
- University of Southern California
- Occupation
- * Film director
- Nationality
- United States
- Honours
- Saturn Award for Best Director · Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation
- Languages
- English
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Irvin Kershner (born Isadore Kershner; April 29, 1923November 27, 2010) was an American director for film and television. Early in his career as a filmmaker he directed quirky, independent drama films, while working as a lecturer at the University of Southern California. Later, he began making high-budget blockbusters such as Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, the James Bond adaptation Never Say Never Again and RoboCop 2.
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Note VALÉORINE
Irvin Kershner (1923–2010) was an actor, director and film actor, among other activities, of American nationality. The actor was born in Philadelphia and died in Los Angeles.
Irvin Kershner was educated at Temple University, Tyler School of Art and University of Southern California, among others. The actor worked for University of Southern California.
Languages used include English. Honours include Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation and Saturn Award for Best Director.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 27 September 2026
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wikidata · Q119348 · wikipedia · Irvin Kershner
In this article
Biography
Biography
Through the course of his career, he received numerous accolades, including being nominated for both a Primetime Emmy Award and a Palme d'Or.
Irvin Kershner studied at University of Southern California, Temple University and Tyler School of Art. The recorded working language is English. Employment is recorded with University of Southern California. Distinctions recorded are Saturn Award for Best Director and Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation.

Irvin Kershner Jury Chairman of 2nd WJFF 2004 Daniel Strehlau - selfie
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Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Irvin Kershner • Birth Name — Isadore Kershner • Born — 29 April 1923 • Birthplace — Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. • Died — 27 November 2010 • Place of death — Los Angeles, California, U.S. • Education — University of Southern California • Occupation — * Film director • producer • actor • Years Active — 1952–2009 • Children — 2
Early life
Early life
Irvin Kershner was born in Philadelphia, to Ukrainian-Jewish parents. His artistic and cultural background was a mixture of music and art. The study of music (violin, viola and composition) was the most important activity of his early years. He attended Temple University's Tyler School of Fine Arts in Philadelphia. Later, he went to New York and Provincetown to study with the famous painting teacher Hans Hofmann. He then moved to Los Angeles where he studied photography at the Art Center College of Design. During World War II, Kershner served three years with the U.S. Eighth Air Force as a flight engineer. He later began his film career at the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts, teaching photography and taking cinema courses under Slavko Vorkapić, a montage artist and then-dean of the School. Kershner then accepted a job as still photographer on a State Department film project in Iran under the Point Four Program, which ultimately led to an assignment as a director and cinematographer of documentaries in Iran, Greece and Turkey with the United States Information Service.
Career
Career
When he returned to the States, he and Paul Coates developed Confidential File, a documentary television series. Kershner worked as writer, director, cinematographer and editor. He later developed and directed the television series The Rebel (1959–61), as well as the pilots for Peyton Place, Cain's Hundred, Philip Marlowe, and others. He then moved on to feature films, including: The Hoodlum Priest (which starred Don Murray); The Luck of Ginger Coffey (with Robert Shaw and Mary Ure); A Fine Madness (with Sean Connery, Joanne Woodward, and Jean Seberg); The Flim-Flam Man (starring Michael Sarrazin, George C. Scott and Sue Lyon); Loving (with George Segal and Eva Marie Saint); Up the Sandbox (with Barbra Streisand); The Return of a Man Called Horse (starring Richard Harris); the critically acclaimed TV movie Raid on Entebbe (a true-life drama which was nominated for nine Emmys, including Best Direction); and the supernatural thriller Eyes of Laura Mars (starring Faye Dunaway and Tommy Lee Jones). Kershner was the son of Jewish immigrants. He considered himself an internationalist, saying: "I've been a student of Christianity. I've been interested in the historical basis of the Muslim religion. I studied Buddhism. I don't think of myself as a Jew except by birth, as I don't follow the customs. I'm a Jew because other people consider me so. My pride is in being international."
The Empire Strikes Back
The Empire Strikes Back
Kershner directed The Empire Strikes Back (1980), the sequel of the 1977 hit film Star Wars. Writer-producer George Lucas knew Kershner as a teacher in the film program at USC School of Cinematic Arts. Kershner was a surprising choice in directing the film. According to Kershner himself, he once asked Lucas: "Of all the younger guys around, all the hot-shots, why me?" Lucas replied: "Well, because you know everything a Hollywood director is supposed to know, but you're not Hollywood." Kershner, who was an appealing directorial candidate to Lucas because of his concern for character development, was at first reluctant to direct the film. When asked by Lucas to work on the project over lunch, Kershner refused. Kershner's agent was told about the meeting and encouraged him to take the job. Kershner later discussed his motivations: "I was grabbed by the fairytale which Lucas invented and wanted to be part of keeping it alive." Of his cinematic style, Kershner has said: "I like to fill up the frame with the characters' faces. There's nothing more interesting than the landscape of the human face". Kershner turned down a chance to direct Return of the Jedi (1983), having spent almost three years of work on The Empire Strikes Back. Richard Marquand was eventually chosen to direct the third film in the original trilogy. Kershner stated, in retrospect, that he would have accepted an offer to direct one of the films of the Star Wars prequel trilogy had they been produced sooner, as Lucas originally estimated the first of them to be ready for release in 1988 rather than in 1999.
Later work
Later work
Kershner had projects with which he was going to be involved in the late 1970s and early 1980s. He signed on to direct an adaptation of I, Robot from a script by Harlan Ellison, which was never filmed. Later, he was initially hired by producers Richard Zanuck and David Brown to direct an adaptation of Eric Van Lustbader's novel The Ninja from scripts by W.D. Richter and Tom Cole, but the project was cancelled following months of pre-production. After Empire Strikes Back, Kershner directed Never Say Never Again (Sean Connery's return to the role of James Bond), the HBO film Traveling Man (starring John Lithgow and Jonathan Silverman, this film earned Kershner an ACE Award nomination), and RoboCop 2. He also directed the pilot of the television series seaQuest DSV, and he made his debut as an actor in the Martin Scorsese film The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), in which he played Zebedee, the father of the apostles James and John. He played a film director in Steven Seagal's On Deadly Ground. He was a faculty member at the Master of Professional Writing Program at the University of Southern California. In 2000, he was a member of the jury at the 22nd Moscow International Film Festival. In fall 2002, spring 2003, fall 2004, and spring 2004, Kershner served as a Visiting Professor and Research Associate at the Maryland Institute for Technology in the Humanities (MITH) at the University of Maryland, College Park, where he also provided cinematography training. He and the founding director Martha Nell Smith remained close and he served as her advisor until the end of his life.
Death
Death
Kershner died on November 27, 2010, at his home in Los Angeles, after suffering from lung cancer for three and a half years. Kershner had been working on photographic projects before his death. He was looked after by his two sons, David and Dana.
As director
As director
• Year — Title — Notes • 1958 — Stakeout on Dope Street — Also screenwriter • 1959 — The Young Captives • 1961 — The Hoodlum Priest — OCIC Award Nominated- Palme d'Or • 1963 — Face in the Rain • 1964 — The Luck of Ginger Coffey • 1966 — A Fine Madness • 1967 — The Flim-Flam Man • 1970 — Loving • 1972 — Up the Sandbox • 1974 — S*P*Y*S • 1976 — The Return of a Man Called Horse • 1978 — Eyes of Laura Mars • 1980 — The Empire Strikes Back — Saturn Award for Best Director Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation • 1983 — Never Say Never Again • 1990 — RoboCop 2
As actor
As actor
• Year — Title — Role — Director — Notes • 1988 — The Last Temptation of Christ — Zebedee — Martin Scorsese • 1990 — RoboCop 2 — Gerber — Himself — Uncredited • 1994 — On Deadly Ground — Walters — Steven Seagal • 1995 — Angus — Mr. Stoff — Patrick Read Johnson • 2003 — Manhood — Gentleman — Bobby Roth • 2005 — Berkeley — Statistics Professor — Final film role
As producer
As producer
• Year — Title — Director — Notes • 1988 — Wildfire — Zalman King — Executive • 1997 — American Perfekt — Paul Chart • 2009 — The Lost Tribe — Roel Reiné — Executive
Television director
Television director
• Year — Title — Notes • 1955 — Confidential File — Episode: "Horror Comic Books" • 1959 — Now Is Tomorrow — Television film • 1959–61 — The Rebel — 35 episodes • 1961 — Cain's Hundred — Episode: "Degrees of Guilt" • Ben Casey — Episode: "My Good Friend Krikor" • 1962–1963 — Naked City — 2 episodes • 1963 — Kraft Suspense Theatre — Episode: "The End of the World, Baby" • 1977 — Raid on Entebbe — Television film Nominated- Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing in a Special Program • 1986 — Amazing Stories — Episode: "Hell Toupee" • 1989 — Traveling Man — Television film • 1993 — SeaQuest DSV — Episode: "To Be or Not to Be"
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1923
Irvin Kershner was born on 29 April 1923.
2010
Irvin Kershner died on 27 November 2010.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Philadelphia.
Birth place
Los Angeles.
Death place
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- “Irvin Kershner”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q119348: Irvin Kershner
Unverified · Wikidata
Awards and nominations
• Winner, Lifetime Career Award – Saturn Awards (2010) • Winner, Director of Achievement – Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival (2002) • Winner, Best Director, The Empire Strikes Back – Saturn Awards (1980) • Winner, Best Dramatic Presentation, The Empire Strikes Back – Hugo Awards (1980) • Nominee, Best Director, Special Program-Drama, Raid on Entebbe – Emmy Awards (1976) • Winner, OCIC Award, The Hoodlum Priest – Cannes Film Festival (1961) • Nominee, Palme d'Or, The Hoodlum Priest – Cannes Film Festival (1961)
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Myers, Joseph. In Memoriam: Irvin Kershner joins the Force. South Philly Review. December 9, 2010.
- 2.USC Cinematic Arts School of Cinematic Arts News. cinema.usc.edu.
- 3.Acclaimed Director Irvin Kershner Passes. Television Academy.
- 4.Irvin Kershner. Turner Classic Movies.
- 5.Weber, Bruce. Irvin Kershner, Hollywood Director, Dies at 87. The New York Times. November 29, 2010.
- 6.Arnold, Alan. Once Upon a Galaxy: A Journal of The Making of The Empire Strikes Back. Sphere Books. 238. 1980. 978-0-3452-9075-5.
- 7.Famed Jewish Hollywood director, Irvin Kershner, dies at 87. Haaretz. The Associated Press. November 29, 2010.
- 8.George Lucas Mourns the Death of His Friend, Colleague, and Mentor Irving Kershner. Collider. November 30, 2010.
- 9.Nashawaty, Chris. 'Empire Strikes Back' director Irvin Kershner: An appreciation. Entertainment Weekly. November 29, 2010.
- 10.Ryan, Mike. In Hindsight, 'Empire Strikes Back' Director Irvin Kershner Would've Helmed One of the Prequels. Vanity Fair. October 18, 2010.
- 11.Allan, Jani. Sunday Times (South Africa). June 1, 1980
- 12.Director's commentary on the Empire Strikes Back DVD.
- 13.Weil, Ellen. Harlan Ellison: The Edge of Forever. Ohio State University Press. 125. 2002. 978-0814250891.
- 14.Harmetz, Aljean. Zanuck/Brown Leaving Fox. The New York Times. 19. April 19, 1983.
- 15.University of Southern California. In Memoriam: Irvin Kershner. School of Cinematic Arts. November 30, 2010.
- 16.Moscow International Film Festival. 22nd Moscow International Film Festival. 2000.
- 17.Harrison, Regina. 'Mined to Death' Documentary Film. Maryland Institute for Technology in the Humanities. January 2003.
- 18.McLellan, Dennis. Irvin Kershner dies at 87; film director. Los Angeles Times. November 30, 2010.
- 19.Dichiara, Tom. Irvin Kershner, Director Of 'The Empire Strikes Back,' Dies At 87. MTV News. MTV. November 27, 2010.
Bibliography printed in the source article · 2
- 1980: Alan Arnold: A Journal of the Making of The Empire Strikes Back (contributor). .
- 1997: Laurent Bouzereau: Star Wars. The Annotated Screenplays. (contributor) .
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Irvin Kershner is recorded with the occupation film producer. Recorded as having received Saturn Award for Best Director and Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation. Connected to 1 other published record in the VALÉORINE Encyclopedia.
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