Career
Lerner was born May 8, 1927, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Nacham and Goldie (Levine) Lerner. Murray's father left the family shortly after his birth. He was raised by his mother in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, where he graduated from high school. Lerner attended Harvard University on a full scholarship. He helped start a film production society at Harvard and began teaching himself the art of filmmaking. Lerner graduated from Harvard in 1947 with a degree in Poetry. His first feature-length film, released in 1956, was the underwater documentary ''Secrets of the Reef'' which he co-directed with Lloyd Ritter and Robert M. Young. The filmmaker's break-through was the 1967 documentary ''Festival (1967 film), Festival!'' which featured highlights from the Newport Folk Festival in 1963 through 1966. The film, nominated for an Oscar in 1968, captured performances by folk and blues icons such as Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Donovan, Peter, Paul & Mary, Howlin' Wolf, Mississippi John Hurt, and Son House. Lerner filmed the Isle of Wight Festival 1970 in England in its entirety. with seven crews. After the promoters declared bankruptcy, Lerner fought a four-year battle in the British courts, eventually winning the rights to his footage. From the 1990s through his death, Lerner used the footage to produce a series of documentaries centered on the festival, including ''Message to Love, Message to Love: The Isle of Wight Festival'' (1995) and separate films on performances by Jimi Hendrix (1991), The Who (1996), Miles Davis (2004), Jethro Tull (band), Jethro Tull (2005), Emerson, Lake & Palmer (2006), Bob Dylan (2007), The Moody Blues (2008), Leonard Cohen (2009), Rory Gallagher's band Taste (Irish band), Taste (2015), The Doors (2018), and Joni Mitchell (2018). Perhaps the most significant of Lerner's works is the 1979 documentary ''From Mao to Mozart: Isaac Stern in China'', which won the Academy Awards, Academy Award for Best Documentary the next year. The film was preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2000.Death
Lerner died of kidney failure on September 2, 2017, at his home in Long Island City, Queens, New York City, New York. He was survived by his wife of 60 years, the former Judith Levine, his son Noah and two grandchildren.Selected filmography
*''Secrets of the Reef'' (1956 in film, 1956) *''Festival (1967 film), Festival'' (1967 in film, 1967) *''From Mao to Mozart: Isaac Stern in China'' (1980 in film, 1980) * ''Magic Journeys'' (1982 in film, 1982) *''Message to Love, Message to Love: The Isle of Wight Festival'' (1995 in film, 1995) *''Listening To You: The Who At The Isle Of Wight Festival'' (1996 in film, 1996) *''Blue Wild Angel: Live at the Isle of Wight, Blue Wild Angel: Jimi Hendrix at the Isle of Wight'' (2002 in film, 2002) *''Miles Electric: A Different Kind of Blue'' (2004 in film, 2004) *''Nothing Is Easy: Live at the Isle of Wight 1970, Nothing is Easy: Jethro Tull at the Isle of Wight'' (2005 in film, 2005) *''Emerson, Lake & Palmer'' (''The Birth Of A Band: Isle of Wight 1970'') (2006 in film, 2006) *''Amazing Journey: The Story of The Who'' (2007 in film, 2007) *''The Other Side of the Mirror (film), The Other Side of the Mirror: Bob Dylan at the Newport Folk Festival'' (2007 in film, 2007) *''The Moody Blues'' ''(Threshold of a Dream: Live at the Isle of Wight Festival 1970)'' (2008 in film, 2008) *''Leonard Cohen'' (''Live at the Isle of Wight 1970 (Leonard Cohen album), Leonard Cohen Live at The Isle of Wight 1970'') (2009 in film, 2009) *''Taste (Irish band), Taste'' ''(What's Going On Live At The Isle of Wight 1970)'' (2015 in film, 2015) *''Live at The Isle of Wight Festival 1970 (The Doors), The Doors: Live at the Isle of Wight Festival 1970'' (2018 in film, 2018) * ''Joni Mitchell: Both Sides Now. Live at the Isle of Wight Festival 1970'' (2018 in film, 2018)External links
*References
1927 births 2017 deaths American film directors Directors of Best Documentary Feature Academy Award winners American documentary filmmakers 20th-century American Jews Bob Dylan 21st-century American Jews Deaths from kidney failure Harvard University alumni People from Philadelphia {{US-film-director-stub