Steve Carver (April 5, 1945 – January 8, 2021) was an American film director, producer, and photographer.

Biography

Carver attended Manhattan's High School of Music and Art and received his BA from

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

and his MFA from the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts at Washington University in St. Louis. He was originally interested in cartooning, commercial art and animation. He was a cameraman for the Wide World of Sports, for the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

, and made 30 documentaries in two years while teaching in St Louis area colleges.

American Film Institute

In 1970, a documentary he shot in grad school got him admitted to the

American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the History of cinema in the United States, motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private fu ...

, then in its second year of taking in fellows in Hollywood. While at the AFI he studied under such filmmakers as

George Stevens George Cooper Stevens (December 18, 1904 – March 8, 1975) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter and cinematographer. He won the Academy Award for Best Director for ''A Place in the Sun (1951 film), A Place in the Sun'' (1951) ...

George Seaton George Seaton (April 17, 1911 – July 28, 1979) was an American screenwriter, playwright, film director and producer, and theater director. Seaton led several industry organizations, serving as a three-time president of the Motion Picture Aca ...

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English film director. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featu ...

Charlton Heston Charlton Heston (born John Charles Carter; October 4, 1923 – April 5, 2008) was an American actor. He gained stardom for his leading man roles in numerous Cinema of the United States, Hollywood films including biblical epics, science-fiction f ...

and

Gregory Peck Eldred Gregory Peck (April 5, 1916 – June 12, 2003) was an American actor and one of the most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1970s. In 1999, the American Film Institute named Peck the AFI's 100 Years...100 Stars, 12th-greatest male ...

. He worked as an assistant director on Dalton Trumbo's sole effort as director, '' Johnny Got His Gun'' (1971). Carver's final AFI project was a short film based on

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic who is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales involving mystery and the macabre. He is widely re ...

's ''

The Tell-Tale Heart "The Tell-Tale Heart" is a short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1843. It is told by an unnamed narrator who endeavors to convince the reader of the narrator's sanity while simultaneously describing a murder the nar ...

'' starring Alex Cord and Sam Jaffe. The ''Los Angeles Times'' described it as "an effective mood piece, a beautiful work in ominous life and shadow". "I loved AFI", said Carver. "It was an opportunity to use some very talented people."

Roger Corman

''The Tell-Tale Heart'' was widely screened and attracted the attention of

Roger Corman Roger William Corman (April 5, 1926 – May 9, 2024) was an American film director, producer, and actor. Known under various monikers such as "The Pope of Pop Cinema", "The Spiritual Godfather of the New Hollywood", and "The King of Cult", he w ...

who had made a number of adaptations of Poe's works. Corman hired Carver to work at

New World Pictures New World Pictures (also known as New World Entertainment, New World Communications Group, Inc., and New World International) was an American independent production, distribution, and (in its final years as an autonomous entity) multimedia com ...

. Carver spent his first year at New World cutting trailers. He later estimated he cut 100-150 trailers in that time. He also wrote a number of scripts for Corman, including one on Admiral Byrd that floundered when they could not secure rights from Byrd's estate. He was working on a script about a black female private eye when Corman gave him the chance to direct with '' The Arena'' (1974), a film about female gladiators shot in Italy.

''Big Bad Mama'' and ''Capone''

Corman was pleased with ''The Arena'' and gave Carver another directing job, a gangster film starring

Angie Dickinson Angie Dickinson (born Angeline Brown; September 30, 1931) is an American retired actress. She began her career on television, appearing in many Anthology series#Television, anthology series during the 1950s, before gaining her breakthrough rol ...

, '' Big Bad Mama'' (1974).

Paul Bartel Paul Bartel (August 6, 1938 – May 13, 2000) was an American actor, writer and director. He was perhaps most known for his 1982 hit black comedy ''Eating Raoul'', which he co-wrote, starred in and directed. Bartel appeared in over 90 movies an ...

, who directed second unit on the film, described Carver as "very well organised" and "having great control of the medium". It was a big success at the box office. Corman used Carver on another gangster film he made over at

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...

, '' Capone'' (1975), starring

Ben Gazzara Biagio Anthony "Ben" Gazzara (August 28, 1930 – February 3, 2012) was an American actor and director of film, stage, and television. He received numerous accolades including a Primetime Emmy Award and a Drama Desk Award, in addition to nomina ...

and

John Cassavetes John Nicholas Cassavetes (December 9, 1929 – February 3, 1989) was an American filmmaker and actor. He began as an actor in film and television before helping to pioneer modern American independent cinema as a writer and director, often self- ...

. In a 1975 interview Carver said "All I want to do for now is a string of good commercial pictures but in my own style. I'm not looking for a multi-million-dollar picture; $1 to $2 million will do for now." The same interview described him "as intense and dynamic as his films... an aggressive achiever who has already accomplished enough for three people."

''Drum''

Carver was mentioned as a possible director for the third film in the "Billy Jack" series, '' Billy Jack Goes to Washington'', but in the end Tom Laughlin decided to do it. Instead

Dino De Laurentiis Agostino "Dino" De Laurentiis (; 8 August 1919 – 10 November 2010) was an Italian film producer and businessman who held both Italian and American citizenship. Following a brief acting career in the late 1930s and early 1940s, he moved into f ...

hired Carver to replace

Burt Kennedy Burton Raphael Kennedy (September 3, 1922 – February 15, 2001) was an American screenwriter and film director, director known mainly for directing Westerns. Budd Boetticher called him "the best Western writer ever." Biography Kennedy was b ...

as director on ''

Drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a ...

'' (1976). Although the movie was completed successfully and proved profitable, Carver described the experience of taking over another director as "horrible". In a later interview Carver described Burt Kennedy's attitude towards him as "very gracious": "He sat down with me, explained the situation. He warned me that part of the cast would follow him off of the movie. He went over a lot with me." Carver was going to make a film for

Ray Stark Raymond Otto Stark (October 3, 1915 – January 17, 2004) was an American film producer and talent agent. Stark's background as a literary and theatrical agent prepared him to produce some of the most profitable films of the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, ...

with

Susan Blakely Susan Blakely (born September 7, 1948) is an American actress. She is best known for her leading role in the 1976 ABC miniseries '' Rich Man, Poor Man'', for which she received a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama a ...

, ''Freestyle'', about a hotdog skier at the end of her career. However it was never made. Neither was another film Carver was attached to, ''Summer Camp'' from a script by Barry Schneider. Instead Carver directed ''

Steel Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron. Due to steel's high Young's modulus, elastic modulus, Yield (engineering), yield strength, Fracture, fracture strength a ...

'' with

Lee Majors Lee Majors (born Harvey Lee Yeary; April 23, 1939) is an American actor. He portrayed the characters of Heath Barkley on the American television Western series '' The Big Valley'' (1965–1969), Colonel Steve Austin on the American television sc ...

, then made another for

, '' Fast Charlie... the Moonbeam Rider'' (1979), starring David Carradine. He did some uncredited work on a TV movie, ''Angel City'' (1980). Carver left the production, because the producers refused to fire actor Ralph Waite, who, according to Carver, came to the set drunk.

Chuck Norris

Carver made two highly successful films with

Chuck Norris Carlos Ray "Chuck" Norris (born March 10, 1940) is an American martial artist and actor. Born in Oklahoma, Norris first gained fame when he won the amateur Middleweight Karate champion title in 1968, which he held for six consecutive years. H ...

, '' An Eye for an Eye'' and '' Lone Wolf McQuade''. The development of ''

Walker, Texas Ranger ''Walker, Texas Ranger'' is an American action fiction, action Crime drama, crime television series created by Leslie Greif and Paul Haggis. It was inspired by the film ''Lone Wolf McQuade'', with both the film and the series starring Chuck Norr ...

'' led to a lawsuit filed by Carver and his production partner Yoram Ben-Ami, which they lost. Carver in 2020: "We failed to convince the Supreme Court that there were similarities. Now, you and I and anybody else knows that there are similarities between ''Lone Wolf McQuade'' and ''Walker, Texas Ranger''."

Later career

His late-'80s movies tended to be less distinguished – '' Oceans of Fire'' (1986), a TV movie; '' Jocks'' (1987), a teen comedy with a young

Mariska Hargitay Mariska Magdolna Hargitay Mariska says her own first name and the name of her father; the interviewer, James Lipton, also says her full name near the start of the show. (; born January 23, 1964) is an American actress, producer, and philanthrop ...

; '' Bulletproof'' (1988), an action film with

Gary Busey William Gary Busey (; born June 29, 1944) is an American actor. He portrayed Buddy Holly in ''The Buddy Holly Story'' (1978), for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor and won the National Society of Film Critics Award fo ...

; '' River of Death'' (1989); ''Dead Center'' (1993); ''The Wolves'' (1996). He also directed a number of movies uncredited. As he explained in an interview from August 2020: "I became known as a “go-to” director with other producers. When a movie got in trouble and a producer needed a director to step in to “save” their picture, they called me. It was fun for a while and good money." Eventually Carver left directing and went into photography. "Roger spoiled me", Carver reflected later, saying other producers "wore me down and chased me back to doing photography." He opened a photography lab in Los Angeles in 1995. He is featured in the documentary film '' That Guy Dick Miller'', over the acting and life of

Dick Miller Richard Miller (December 25, 1928 – January 30, 2019) was an American character actor who appeared in more than 180 films, including many produced by Roger Corman. He later appeared in the films of directors who began their careers with Corm ...

Death

Carver died from

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 ...

in Los Angeles on January 8, 2021, at age 75, during the

COVID-19 pandemic in California The COVID-19 pandemic in California began earlier than in some other parts of the United States. Ten of the first 20 confirmed COVID-19 infections in the United States were detected in California, and the first infection was confirmed on Janua ...

, though it was initially reported that he died from a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

Films

*''The Tell-Tale Heart'' (1971) (short) – director, producer *'' Johnny Got His Gun'' (1971) – assistant director *'' The Arena'' (1974) – director *'' Big Bad Mama'' (1974) – director *'' Capone'' (1975) - director *''

'' (1976) – director *'' Fast Charlie... the Moonbeam Rider'' (1979) – director *''

'' (1979) – director *'' Angel City'' (1980) (TV movie) – director (uncredited) *'' An Eye for an Eye'' (1981) – director *'' Lone Wolf McQuade'' (1983) – director, producer *'' Oceans of Fire'' (1986) (TV movie) – director *'' Jocks'' (1987) – director *'' Bulletproof'' (1988) – director *'' River of Death'' (1989) – director *''Dead Center'' (1993) – director *''The Wolves'' (1996) – director

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Carver, Steve 1945 births 2021 deaths American action film directors AFI Conservatory alumni Film producers from New York City Cornell University alumni Washington University in St. Louis alumni Film directors from New York City Artists from Brooklyn Photographers from Los Angeles Photographers from New York City Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts alumni Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in California