Ivan Passer

Ivan Passer studied at Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague. The recorded working language is Czech and English. The field of work recorded is film screenwriting and film direction. Work by Ivan Passer is recorded in the collections of Museum of Modern Art. Distinctions recorded are Artis Bohemiae Amicis Medal, Czech Lion Award for Unique Contribution to Czech Film and Annual award ACFK.

• Name — Ivan Passer • Born — 10 July 1933 • Birthplace — Prague, Czechoslovakia (now Czech Republic) • Died — 9 January 2020 • Place of death — Reno, Nevada, U.S. • Alma Mater — Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague • Occupation — Film director, screenwriter • Awards — See below

Passer was born in Prague, the son of Marianna (Mandelick) and Alois Passer. His sister was actress Eva Límanová. Passer attended King George boarding school in Poděbrady with future filmmakers Miloš Forman, Jerzy Skolimowski and Paul Fierlinger and playwright Václav Havel. He then studied at FAMU in Prague, but did not finish the program.

He began his career as an assistant director on Ladislav Helge's Velká samota. Later he collaborated with his friend Miloš Forman on all of Forman's Czech films, including Loves of a Blonde (1965) and The Firemen's Ball (1967), both of which Passer co-wrote and which were nominated for Academy Awards. He introduced Forman to cinematographer Miroslav Ondříček whom he knew from Velká samota. He then directed his first feature, Intimate Lighting, which was released in 1965 and is considered by some to be Passer's masterpiece. In 1969, after the Warsaw Pact invasion, Passer and Forman left Czechoslovakia together. Both proceeded to the United States, with Forman becoming an Academy Award-winning filmmaker. Passer went on to make several prominent American films such as Born to Win (1971), a junkie drama starring George Segal and Karen Black, and Cutter's Way (1981), a dramatic thriller starring Jeff Bridges and John Heard. Though best known for his idiosyncratic, often gritty dramas, he also directed comedies such as Silver Bears (1978) starring Michael Caine and Creator (1985) starring Peter O'Toole. Later in his career, he directed numerous films for television, most notably the award-winning biopic Stalin (1992) starring Robert Duvall for HBO. He was also a film professor at the University of Southern California.

Passer was married twice. He married Anne Frances Head in 1992. He had a son, Ivan Jr., from his first marriage.

Passer died on January 9, 2020, from pulmonary complications in Reno, Nevada. He was 86 years old.

• Year — Title — Notes • 1983 — Faerie Tale Theatre — Episode: "The Nightingale" • 1990 — Fourth Story — TV movie • 1992 — Stalin • 1994 — While Justice Sleeps • 1995 — Kidnapped • 1999 — The Wishing Tree • 2000 — Picnic

Ivan Passer is recorded as film director and screenwriter.