Oscar winning director Sidney Lumet passes away

Award-winning director Sidney Lumet, 86, died of lymphoma on Saturday at his home in Manhattan.  Lumet was personally nominated for four Oscars during his lifetime for gritty dramas, such as The Verdict, Network, Dog Day Afternoon and 12 Angry Men.  On being presented an honorary Lifetime Achievement Oscar in 2005, he told New York Times, “I wanted one, damn it, and I felt I deserved one.”

After directing films that accumulated over 40 Academy Award nominations, this desire was not undeserved.

The Oscar-winning director was also a favorite among actors.  In an interview earlier this year, actress Ali MacGraw, who starred in Lumet’s film Just Tell Me What You Want, told The Wall Street Journal, Lumet was “every actor’s dream.”

Lumet also directed stars like Al Pacino, Lauren Bacall, Sean Connery, Marlon Brando, Henry Fonda, Richard Burton, Faye Dunaway, Dustin Hoffman and Michael Jackson, just to name a few.

But the legendary filmmaker’s talent lives on through his daughter, Jenny Lumet, writer of the Oscar-nominated, family drama Rachel Getting Married.  Lumet also directed his daughter in the crime thriller, Q&A.

Lumet is survived by his wife Mary Gimbel, stepdaughter Leslie, stepson Bailey Gimbel and daughters Amy and Jenny Lumet.