William Kronick
| William Kronick | |
|---|---|
 William Kronick directing Richard Burton during the filming of To the Ends of the Earth. | |
| Born |
January 2, 1934 Amsterdam, New York, USA |
| Occupation | Film writer, director, producer, novelist |
William Kronick is an American film and television writer, director and producer. He worked in the film industry from 1960 to 2000, when he segued into writing novels.
Biography
Born to European emigrants, William Kronick [1][2] grew up in Amsterdam, New York. He attended Columbia College where he was active in the Columbia Players’ stage productions. He also helped form The Gilbert and Sullivan Society at Barnard College.
After graduation William Kronick was drafted into the U.S. Navy where he became a Photographer’s Mate. During a North Atlantic exercise in Stockholm, Sweden Kronick met Alf Sjoberg[3] who arranged for Kronick, once out of the Navy, to apprentice with Ingmar Bergman on his next film The Magician.[4]
Upon returning to New York Kronick found a job as Production Assistant with Louis de Rochemont Associates.[5] So began his four-decade career as a writer, director and producer.
Kronick's first film was a twenty-seven-minute comedy-satire called A Bowl of Cherries.[6] The film, which played in nearly a thousand art theaters in the U.S. and Europe, was seen in L.A. by a producer of TV documentaries, David L. Wolper.[7] He offered Kronick the directing/writing position on a new reality series, Story of….
Over a period of decades, Kronick would write and direct some of Wolper’s highest-rated Network Specials,[8] ranging from Alaska! (National Geographic) to Plimpton! to The Five-Hundred Pound Jerk (A Movie-of-the Week, Director only) to Mysteries of the Great Pyramid.[9][10]
His first feature, independently financed, was A Likely Story[11] (a.k.a. The Dublin Murders) filmed entirely on location in Dublin. It featured Harvey Lembeck, Al Lettieri and Sinéad Cusack. Kronick also did long-term stints as Second Unit Director on features such as King Kong[12] (1976) and Flash Gordon[13] (1980), on which he was responsible for many action and special effects sequences.
Another major film project was the feature-length documentary To The Ends Of The Earth,[14] which recorded the unique three-year expedition of three Englishmen who set out to circumnavigate the globe, crossing both the South and North Poles without leaving the surface of the earth. Known as the Transglobe Expedition, Prince Charles was its patron with Richard Burton narrating and hosting the film. Kronick received a Special Certificate of Merit from the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences for this film.
He continued to produce, write and direct Network and Cable reality specials until 2000, when he devoted himself to writing novels. To date he has completed six books.[15] The tales are contemporary morality stories, dealing mainly with film and theater.
He has been married and divorced twice and has a son, Max, by his second wife. Kronick resides in Los Angeles.
Career
Filmography
Directing Credits
| Year | Show [16][17][18] |
|---|---|
| 1999 | The Man Who Makes Things Happen: David L. Wolper |
| 1991 | The Journey Back: Professionals Recover From Addiction |
| 1988 | The World's Greatest Stunts: A Tribute to Hollywood Stuntmen |
| 1987 | The Ultimate Stuntman: A Tribute to Dar Robinson |
| 1983 | To the Ends of the Earth |
| 1983 | Ripley's Believe It Or Not! |
| 1981 | Small World |
| 1980 | Flash Gordon (Second Unit Director) |
| 1977 | Mysteries of the Great Pyramid |
| 1976 | King Kong (Second Unit Director) |
| 1973 | A Likely Story (a.k.a. Dublin Murders) |
| 1973 | The 500 Pound Jerk |
| 1970-72 | Plimpton! Specials |
| 1970 | Flap (Second Unit Director) |
| 1969 | The Bridge at Remagen (Second Unit Director) |
| 1967 | National Geographic Special: Alaska! |
| 1965 | Time-Life Special: The Class of '49 |
| 1965 | Race for the Moon |
| 1964 | Krebiozen and Cancer: Thirteen Years of Bitter Conflict |
| 1964 | Hollywood and the Stars: On Location: Night of the Iguana |
| 1962-63 | Story Of... |
| 1961 | A Bowl of Cherries |
Writing Credits
| Year | Show [16][17][18] |
|---|---|
| 1999 | Celebrate the Century |
| 1999 | The Man Who Makes Things Happen: David L. Wolper |
| 1991 | The Journey Back: Professionals Recover From Addiction |
| 1988 | The World's Greatest Stunts: A Tribute to Hollywood Stuntmen |
| 1987 | The Ultimate Stuntman: A Tribute to Dar Robinson |
| 1981 | Great Movie Stunts: Raiders of the Lost Ark |
| 1977 | Mysteries of the Great Pyramid |
| 1973 | A Likely Story (a.k.a. Dublin Murders) |
| 1970-72 | Plimpton! Specials |
| 1967 | National Geographic Special: Alaska! |
| 1965 | Time-Life Special: The Class of '49 |
| 1965 | Race for the Moon |
| 1964 | Krebiozen and Cancer: Thirteen Years of Bitter Conflict |
| 1964 | Hollywood and the Stars: On Location: Night of the Iguana |
| 1962-63 | Story Of... |
| 1961 | A Bowl of Cherries |
Producing Credits
| Year | Show [16][17][18] |
|---|---|
| 1997-2000 | Undercover History |
| 1999 | The Man Who Makes Things Happen: David L. Wolper |
| 1995-98 | Mysteries of the Bible |
| 1988 | The World's Greatest Stunts: A Tribute to Hollywood Stuntmen |
| 1987 | Biography |
| 1987 | Playboy: Bedtime Stories |
| 1987 | The Ultimate Stuntman: A Tribute to Dar Robinson |
| 1981 | Small World |
| 1978-79 | In Search of... |
| 1977 | Mysteries of the Great Pyramid |
| 1970-72 | Plimpton! Specials |
| 1967 | National Geographic Special: Alaska! |
| 1965 | Time-Life Special: The Class of '49 |
| 1965 | Race for the Moon |
| 1964 | Krebiozen and Cancer: Thirteen Years of Bitter Conflict |
| 1964 | Hollywood and the Stars: On Location: Night of the Iguana |
| 1962-63 | Story Of... |
Novels
| Year | Title [15] |
|---|---|
| 2015 | What Katie Said |
| 2011 | The Art of Self-Deception |
| 2008 | All Stars Die |
| 2006 | N.Y./L.A. |
| 2005 | Cooley Wyatt |
| 2004 | The Cry of Sirens |
References
- ↑ "Producer is Vital Part of Plimpton Specials". The Titusville Herald. Dickinson Newspaper Services, Inc. 22 May 1971. p. 1. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
- ↑ "Producer is Vital Part of Plimpton Specials". The Titusville Herald. Dickinson Newspaper Services, Inc. 22 May 1971. p. 2. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
- ↑ "Alf Sjöberg". Ingmar Bergman Face to Face. Stiftelsen Ingmar Bergman. Retrieved 23 January 2012.
- ↑ "The Magician". Ingmar Bergman Face to Face. Stiftelsen Ingmar Bergman. Retrieved 23 January 2012.
- ↑ JDR. "The Complete Films of Louis de Rochemont". Retrieved 24 January 2012.
- ↑ "The Easy Way - Movies". The Milwaukee Sentinel. The Milwaukee Sentinel. 15 April 1961. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
- ↑ "David L. Wolper Biography". Official Website of Producer David L. Wolper. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
- ↑ "Credit List for William Kronick". Official Website of Producer David L. Wolper. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
- ↑ (1 April 1977). A 'documentary' is seldom objective, Corpus Christi Caller Times (noting that Kronick "specializes" in the "one-subject show" as "documentary" format and noting that Mysteries of the Great Pyramid was debuting on April 20, 1977)
- ↑ (28 April 1977). ABC-TV maintains No 1. ratings, Lethbridge Herald (Listing Mysteries of the Great Pyramid as the 12th most watched prime time television program of the prior week)
- ↑ "Dublin Murders Release". Movie-Release.net. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
- ↑ Ray Morton. King Kong: the history of a movie icon from Fay Wray to Peter Jackson. Hal Leonard Corporation. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
- ↑ "Flash Gordon (1980)". The New York TImes - Movies. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
- ↑ "TRANSGLOBE EXPEDITION 1979 - 1982". Tranglobe - News. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
- 1 2 "William Kronick". Author House. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
- 1 2 3 Directors Guild of America Directory of Members. Directors Guild of America. 2011. p. 346.
- 1 2 3 Writers Guild of America Membership Directory. Writers Guild of America. 1989–1990. p. 224.
- 1 2 3 "William Kronick". IMDB. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
