Michael Stoddard Laughlin (November 28, 1938 – October 20, 2021) was an American film director, producer and screenwriter.

Biography

Laughlin was raised in Minonk, Illinois, where his father Donald M. Laughlin had extensive farms. He played basketball and studied law at college. During his first few days in California, he met the Dean Martin family and other movie stars, which had a lasting effect on him. His mother Hazel Stoddard Laughlin died in 1965. During the late 1960s, he lived in London, where he produced ''The Whisperers'' starring Dame Edith Evans, directed by

Bryan Forbes Bryan Forbes Order of the British Empire, CBE (; born John Theobald Clarke; 22 July 1926 – 8 May 2013) was an English film director, screenwriter, film producer, actor and novelist described as a "Renaissance man"Falk Q. . BAFTA. 17 October 2 ...

. It was in London that he met and married

Leslie Caron Leslie Claire Margaret Caron (; born 1 July 1931) is a French and American actress and dancer. She is the recipient of a Golden Globe Award, two BAFTA Awards and a Primetime Emmy Award, in addition to nominations for two Academy Awards. Caron b ...

who had two children from her previous marriage to Sir Peter Hall. They moved to Los Angeles where they settled in Cuesta Way, Bel Air, and over the next few years, Laughlin produced a series of groundbreaking films including the cult hit ''

Two-Lane Blacktop ''Two-Lane Blacktop'' is a 1971 American road film directed and edited by Monte Hellman, from a screenplay by Rudy Wurlitzer and Will Corry. It stars musicians James Taylor and Dennis Wilson, Warren Oates, and Laurie Bird in the leading ro ...

'' starring

James Taylor James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A six-time Grammy Award winner, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. Taylor achieved his breakthrough in 1970 with the single "Fi ...

and Laurie Bird. He also worked with writers and directors

Floyd Mutrux Floyd Mutrux (born June 25, 1941) is an American stage and film director, writer, producer, and screenwriter. Career He began his work in Hollywood as an uncredited writer for ''Two-Lane Blacktop'' (1971). His career continued with '' The C ...

and

Monte Hellman Monte Hellman (; born Monte Jay Himmelbaum; July 12, 1929 – April 20, 2021) was an American film director, producer, writer, and editor. Hellman began his career as an editor's apprentice at ABC TV, and made his directorial debut with the ho ...

. He and Caron separated in 1975, after living in Paris for a year. Laughlin then lived with the writer Susanna Moore. They lived in London and New York during the 1980s and 1990s, and Laughlin began writing and directing genre films styled in homage to 1950s B-movies. ''Mesmerized'', which Laughlin wrote and directed, was produced by

Jodie Foster Alicia Christian "Jodie" Foster (born November 19, 1962) is an American actress and filmmaker. Foster started her career as a child actor before establishing herself as leading actress in film. She has received List of awards and nominations re ...

. After separating from Moore, Michael Laughlin wrote screenplays for Hollywood studios, including ''Town & Country''. Laughlin died from complications related to

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

Honolulu Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

, on October 20, 2021, at the age of 82.

Awards and accolades

In 2012, ''Two-Lane Blacktop'' was chosen as one of only 20 films to be housed in the

National Film Registry The National Film Registry (NFR) is the United States National Film Preservation Board's (NFPB) collection of films selected for preservation (library and archival science), preservation, each selected for its cultural, historical, and aestheti ...

at the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

. Hailed as a minimalist classic, it was chosen as a fine example of the short-lived period of youth-oriented films following ''Bonnie and Clyde'', ''The Graduate'' and ''Easy Rider'' in the late 1960s. Producers such as Laughlin financed a spate of low-budget, innovative films by young "New Hollywood" filmmakers, with influences ranging from playwright Samuel Beckett to European filmmakers Robert Bresson, Jacques Rivette and Michelangelo Antonioni. In 1984, ''Strange Invaders'' was nominated for Saturn Award for Best Screenplay and for Best Film at the Avoriaz Fantasy Film Festival.

Filmography

*'' The Whisperers'' (1967; producer) *''

Joanna Joanna is a feminine given name deriving from from . Variants in English include Joan, Joann, Joanne, and Johanna. Other forms of the name in English are Jan, Jane, Janet, Janice, Jean, and Jeanne. The earliest recorded occurrence of th ...

'' (1968; producer) *''

'' (1971; producer) *'' Dusty and Sweets McGee'' (1971; producer) *'' The Christian Licorice Store'' (1971; producer) *''

Strange Behavior ''Strange Behavior'' (also known as ''Dead Kids'', ''Small Town Massacre'', ''Shadowlands'', ''Human Experiments'') is a 1981 slasher film written, directed and co-produced by Michael Laughlin, co-written with Bill Condon, and starring Micha ...

'' (1981; writer/director) *''

Strange Invaders ''Strange Invaders'' is a 1983 American science fiction film directed and co-written by Michael Laughlin, and stars Paul Le Mat, Nancy Allen and Diana Scarwid. Produced as a tribute to the sci-fi films of the 1950s, notably '' The Invasion ...

'' (1983; writer/director) *'' Mesmerized'' (1986; writer/director) *'' Town & Country'' (2001; writer)

References

External links

*
National Film Registry, Library of CongressCriterion Collection essay on Two-Lane BlacktopVariety Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Laughlin, Michael 1938 births 2021 deaths Film producers from Illinois American male screenwriters People from Minonk, Illinois Film directors from Illinois Screenwriters from Illinois Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Hawaii