Paul Mazursky, five-time Academy Award nominated writer, director and actor, died in Los Angeles on June 30th of pulmonary cardiac arrest. He was 84.
After attending Brooklyn College, Mazursky made his acting debut in Stanley Kubrick’s Fear and Desire in 1953. Mazursky then worked as a television writer, working on shows such as The Danny Kaye Show and eventually creating The Monkees.
His first produced screenplay, the Peter Sellers comedy I Love You, Alice B. Toklas!, was released in 1968. The next year he made his feature film directing debut with the controversial swinger comedy Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice. He continued to have hits throughout the seventies such as Alex in Wonderland, Blume in Love, Harry and Tonto and An Unmarried Woman.
Mazursky continued to write, direct and act in films and television throughout the next forty years. For his contribution to the motion picture industry, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on December 13th, 2013. He is survived by his wife of 63 years, a daughter, three grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
