William Richert (1942 – July 19, 2022) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. He is known for writing and directing the feature films '' Winter Kills'', ''

The American Success Company ''The American Success Company'' is a 1980 American comedy-drama film directed by William Richert and starring Jeff Bridges. It was written by Larry Cohen. Re-edited versions of the film have appeared under the titles ''American Success'', ''Suc ...

'', and '' A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon''.

Biography

Richert was born in Florida. At the age of 19, he interviewed

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

's daughters

Tricia Tricia is a feminine given name, often a short form (hypocorism) of Patricia. It may refer to: ;People: * Patricia Tricia Brock (born 1979), American contemporary Christian singer-songwriter * Tricia Brown (born 1979), Australian rugby union player ...

and Julie, as part of a planned documentary titled ''Presidents' Daughters''. He directed several other documentaries (including ''Derby'' and '' A Dancer's Life'') and the feature films '' Winter Kills'', ''

'', '' A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon'', and ''The Man in the Iron Mask'' (also known as ''The Mask of Dumas''). In 1982, Richert co-founded Invisible Studio, re-acquiring the rights to ''

'' and '' Winter Kills'', and re-editing and re-releasing both films.Harmetz, Aljean
"WHEN INDEPENDENTS TRY TO RESURRECT MOVIES THAT FAILED,"
''New York Times'' (September 9, 1982). Richert's film ''A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon'' was originally distributed by

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

, but was later re-cut and re-issued independently under the title ''Aren't You Even Going To Kiss Me Goodbye?'' As an actor, Richert played Bob Pigeon in the 1991 Gus van Sant film ''

My Own Private Idaho ''My Own Private Idaho'' is a 1991 American independent adventure drama film written and directed by Gus Van Sant, loosely based on Shakespeare's ''Henry IV, Part 1'', '' Henry IV, Part 2'', and ''Henry V''. The story follows two friends, Mike ...

''. He played

Aramis René d'Herblay, alias Aramis, is a fictional character in the novels ''The Three Musketeers'' (1844), '' Twenty Years After'' (1845), and '' The Vicomte de Bragelonne'' (1847-1850) by Alexandre Dumas, père. He and the other two musketeers, A ...

in his 1998 production of ''The Man in the Iron Mask''. He played Patrick McKennan in the 1999 television movie '' A.T.F.'' He died at his home in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the list of cities in Oregon, largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, Columbia rivers, Portland is ...

, on July 19, 2022, at the age of 79.

Controversy

Richert sued the

Writers Guild of America The Writers Guild of America is the joint efforts of two different US labor unions representing TV and film writers: * The Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE), headquartered in New York City and affiliated with the AFL–CIO * The Writers Gu ...

over not being credited on the screenplay of the 1995 film ''

The American President ''The American President'' is a 1995 American romantic comedy-drama film directed and produced by Rob Reiner and written by Aaron Sorkin. The film stars Michael Douglas, Annette Bening, Martin Sheen, Michael J. Fox, and Richard Dreyfuss. In t ...

''. Richert claimed Sorkin's screenplay was a thinly veiled plagiarism of Richert's 1981 screenplay ''The President Elopes''. After Guild arbitration,

Aaron Sorkin Aaron Benjamin Sorkin (born June 9, 1961) is an American playwright, screenwriter and film director. Born in New York City, he developed a passion for writing at an early age. Sorkin has earned an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, five Primetime ...

was awarded full credit on ''American President''. Richert also claimed that the television series ''

The West Wing ''The West Wing'' is an American serial political drama television series created by Aaron Sorkin that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1999, to May 14, 2006. The series is set primarily in the West Wing of the White Hous ...

'' was derived from part of the same screenplay. Richert also sued the

Directors Guild of America The Directors Guild of America (DGA) is an entertainment guild that represents the interests of film and television directors in the United States motion picture industry and abroad. Founded as the Screen Directors Guild in 1936, the group merge ...

over its collection of overseas levies for American directors who are not members.

Filmography

* 1971 ''

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby g ...

'' (documentary) (Producer) * 1972 '' A Dancer's Life'' (a.k.a. ''First Position''; documentary) (Writer/Director) * 1974 '' Law and Disorder'' (with Kenneth Harris Fishman and

Ivan Passer Ivan Passer (10 July 1933 – 9 January 2020) was a Czech film director and screenwriter, best known for his involvement in the Czechoslovak New Wave and for directing American films such as ''Born to Win'' (1971), '' Cutter's Way'' (1981) and ...

) (Writer) * 1975 ''

The Happy Hooker ''The Happy Hooker: My Own Story'' is a best-selling memoir by Xaviera Hollander, a call girl, published in 1971. It sold over 20 million copies. Robin Moore, who took Hollander's dictations of the book's contents, came up with the title, while Y ...

'' (Writer) * 1976 '' Crime and Passion'' (a.k.a. ''Ace Up My Sleeve'', with

and Pat Silver) (Writer) * 1979 '' Winter Kills'' (Writer/Director) * 1980 ''

'' (a.k.a. ''American Success'' and ''Success'') (Writer/Director) * 1988 '' A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon'' (a.k.a. ''Aren't You Even Gonna Kiss Me Goodbye?'') (Writer/Director) * 1991 ''

'' as Bob Pigeon (Actor) * 1994 ''

The Client Client(s) or The Client may refer to: * Client (business) * Client (computing), hardware or software that accesses a remote service on another computer * Customer or client, a recipient of goods or services in return for monetary or other valuabl ...

'' as Harry 'Mac' Bono (Actor) * 1998 ''The Man in the Iron Mask'' (a.k.a. ''The Face of Alexandre Dumas: The Man in the Iron Mask'', with

Edward Albert Edward Laurence Albert (February 20, 1951 – September 22, 2006) was an American actor. The son of actor Eddie Albert and Mexican actress Margo, he starred opposite Goldie Hawn in ''Butterflies Are Free'' (1972), a role for which he won a ...

Dana Barron Dana Barron is an American actress who is best known for her role as the original Audrey Griswold in the 1983 film ''National Lampoon's Vacation'' which she reprised in 2003's '' National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation 2: Cousin Eddie's Island Adv ...

, Rex Ryon and

Timothy Bottoms Timothy James Bottoms (born August 30, 1951) is an American actor and film producer. He is best known for playing the lead in ''Johnny Got His Gun'' (1971); Sonny Crawford in ''The Last Picture Show'' (1971), where he and his fellow co-stars, Cy ...

)"The Face of Alexandre Dumas: The Man in the Iron Mask,"
IMDb.com. Accessed November 24, 2017. (Writer/Director)

References

External links

* *
Stream Episode 1 of 'The Vindicator'

Stream the entirety of Richert's picture ''Success''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Richert, William 1942 births 2022 deaths American film directors American film producers American screenwriters Film directors from Florida