Carl Lerner (17 June 1912 – 26 August 1973) was an American film editor, director and educator whose career bridged New York's post‑war documentary movement and Hollywood's studio and independent features, earning recognition for his editorial work on '' 12 Angry Men'' (1957) and for directing the civil‑rights drama '' Black Like Me'' (1964).

Early life and education

Lerner was born in

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, on 17 June 1912 to Russian‑Jewish immigrant parents. He earned a degree in

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in the early 1930s, where he also staged student productions. After acting with Philadelphia and New York repertory companies, he moved behind the scenes as a stage director before entering film in the late 1940s.

Career

Lerner’s first credited feature was '' Cry Murder'' (1950) for

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, initiating a prolific decade that included the docu‑fiction '' On the Bowery'' (1956), which won the Grand Prize for Documentary at the

Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival (, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival held in Venice, Italy. It is the world's oldest film festival and one of the ...

and the 1957

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for Best Documentary. His taut cutting of

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’s courtroom drama '' 12 Angry Men'' (1957) has been widely cited for intensifying the film’s claustrophobic tension through an accelerating pattern of shot lengths. Despite critical success, Lerner’s progressive politics led to his gray‑listing during the

Hollywood blacklist The Hollywood blacklist was the mid-20th century banning of suspected Communists from working in the United States entertainment industry. The blacklisting, blacklist began at the onset of the Cold War and Red Scare#Second Red Scare (1947–1957 ...

, making him one of the few East‑Coast editors named in the era’s anti‑Communist campaigns. Continuing freelance, he cut '' The Fugitive Kind'' (1959), '' Requiem for a Heavyweight'' (1962), '' The Swimmer'' (1968) and Alan J. Pakula’s thriller ''

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'' (1971). In 1964, Lerner made his solo directing debut with ''Black Like Me'', adapting John Howard Griffin’s best‑seller into a stark account of segregation‑era racism. Alongside film work, he taught editing at

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, influencing a generation of editors, including Paul Barnes of

Ken Burns Kenneth Lauren Burns (born July 29, 1953) is an American filmmaker known for his documentary films and television series, many of which chronicle American history and culture. His work is often produced in association with WETA-TV or the Nati ...

’ Florentine Films. Among Lerner's significant editing credits are the melodrama '' Cry Murder'' (1950), ''12 Angry Men'' (1957), ''

Middle of the Night Middle of the Night may refer to: * Middle of the Night (novel), ''Middle of the Night'' (novel), a 2024 novel by Riley Sager * ''Middle of the Night'', a 1954 play by Paddy Chayefsky * Middle of the Night (film), ''Middle of the Night'' (film), a ...

'' (1959), '' The Fugitive Kind'' (1959), ''Requiem for a Heavyweight'' (1962), '' The Swimmer'' (1968) and ''

'' (1971); his directing credits include the short documentary ''American Homes'' (1949) and ''Black Like Me'' (1964).

Personal life

Lerner married Austrian‑born writer,

Gerda Lerner Gerda Hedwig Lerner (née Kronstein; April 30, 1920 – January 2, 2013) was an Austrian-born American historian and woman's history author. In addition to her numerous scholarly publications, she wrote poetry, fiction, theatre pieces, screenpl ...

, in 1941; they had two children and often collaborated, with Gerda co‑writing ''Black Like Me''. Diagnosed with a malignant brain tumour in 1972, he died in

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on 26 August 1973, aged 61.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lerner, Carl 1912 births 1973 deaths American film editors American people of Russian-Jewish descent