Celebrity News November 24, 2018
Director Nicolas Roeg Dead at 90
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British director Nicolas Roeg, known for his offbeat, visually adventurous films, died Friday, THR reports. He was 90.
Roeg began working in film in 1947 at the very bottom — as a gofer. He was first a cinematographer before making his directorial debut co-directing "Performance" (1970), starring Mick Jagger as a reclusive rock star. The film has become a cult classic.
He followed it with "Walkabout," a British-Australian production that ruffled feathers with its depiction of life and death in the Australian outback, including scenes of animals being killed and nude scenes featuring 17-year-old actress Jenny Agutter.
Among Roeg's other films: the classic thriller "Don't Look Now' (1973); the David Bowie oddity "The Man Who Fell to Earth" (1976); the high-concept comedy "Insignificance" (1985), which wondered how Marilyn Monroe, Joseph McCarthy, Joe DiMaggio, and Albert Einstein might interact; and "The Witches," a pitch-black adaptation of the Roald Dahl children's novel.
He also directed Elizabeth Taylor in the 1989 NBC adaptation of "Sweet Bird of Youth."
Married three times, Roeg often worked with his second wife, Theresa Russell.
He is survived by his third wife, Harriet, and six children.
