Peter Askin (born 1940) is an actor, director, producer and screenwriter best known for directing the 2007 film ''
Trumbo'', a documentary about the Oscar-winning Hollywood screenwriter
Dalton Trumbo who was
blacklisted for being a member of the
Hollywood Ten.
For the film, he worked closely with Trumbo's son,
Christopher Trumbo
Christopher Trumbo (September 25, 1940 – January 8, 2011) was an American television writer, screenwriter and playwright. Trumbo was considered an expert on the McCarthy-era Hollywood blacklist. His father, screenwriter Dalton Trumbo, was ...
.
Biography
Born to a
Jewish family, Askin is the son of Alma Askin, the daughter of
Joseph Durst, the founder of the
Durst Organization
The Durst Organization is one of the oldest family-run commercial and residential real estate companies in New York City. Established in 1915, the company is owned and operated by the third generation of the Durst family. As of 2014, it owns and ...
and member of one of the most prominent real estate families in New York City in the 20th century. He was educated at
Middlebury College
Middlebury College is a private liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vermont. Founded in 1800 by Congregationalists, Middlebury was the first operating college or university in Vermont. The college currently enrolls 2,858 undergraduates from all ...
and
Columbia University.
[Hischak, Thomas S]
''Enter the Playmakers: Directors and Choreographers on the New York Stage''
2006 He trained under
Wynn Handman at
The American Place Theatre in New York City.
Askin made his debut in 1986 with ''Down an Alley Filled with Cats.''
Askin was the screenwriter for such films as ''
Company Man'' (which he also co-directed) and ''
Smithereens'', and he directed and produced the musical ''
Hedwig and the Angry Inch Hedwig and the Angry Inch may refer to:
* ''Hedwig and the Angry Inch'' (musical), 1998
** ''Hedwig and the Angry Inch'' (soundtrack), 1999
* ''Hedwig and the Angry Inch'' (film), 2001
{{disambig ...
''.
Askin operates the
Off-Broadway
An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...
Westside Theatre. Askin is the Principal Producer of New York-based film and entertainment company Reno Productions. Both fictional movies and documentaries are produced. In 2022 Askin released ''Salt in My Soul''.
"’Salt in My Soul’ Review: Living, Even Thriving, With Illness"
by Ben Kenigsberg, ''The New York Times''
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Askin, Peter
American male screenwriters
American people of Austrian-Jewish descent
American documentary filmmakers
Jewish American male actors
Jewish American screenwriters
1940 births
Living people
Durst family
Middlebury College alumni
Columbia University alumni