Lynn Stalmaster, the Oscar-winning cast director whose eye for talent helped launch the careers of John Travolta, Christopher Reeve, Richard Dreyfuss and many other actors, has passed away. He was 93.
Stalmaster became the first person to receive an Oscar award for casting when he accepted an honorary Oscar in 2016 for lifelong achievement. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has long resisted recognizing cast directors and Stalmaster was brought to tears.
“It’s not only an Oscar for me, but also acknowledges the biggest contribution that casting makes,” he said.
He started his career as an actor and even appeared with John Wayne in the movie “Flying Leathernecks” in 1951, but wanted a backup plan. He was an apprentice to a few TV producers who made him their casting director.
Stalmaster was looking for stars for shows such as ‘Gunsmoke’ and ‘Ben Casey’ when director Robert Wise tapped him for supporting actors in a 1958 film starring Susan Hayward as ‘I Want to Live!’
Stalmaster opened its independent casting office just as the reign of Hollywood’s contract-based studio system ended, giving actors and directors new freedom of choice in their choice of projects. Stalmaster did it for him to know every young artist in Los Angeles and New York, and traveled through the US and Europe to find fresh talent.
Stalmaster has starred in more than 200 films, including ‘The Graduate’, ‘Fiddler on the Roof’, ‘Harold and Maude’, ‘Tootsie’, ‘Deliverance’, ‘Being There’, Judgment at Nuremberg ‘and’ The Right Stuff ‘. ‘He also worked on a documentary about casting directors,’ Casting By ‘, the title, a reference to how Stalmaster and his peers were credited in films, as opposed to being called’ casting director ‘.
“A pioneer of our field, Lynn was a pioneer with more than half a century of world – class film and television release credits,” the Casting Society of America said in a statement. “Thank you, Lynn, for showing us the way.”
Stalmaster was born in Omaha, Nebraska in 1927 and said his father gave him the confidence to become an actor.
“Imagine my dad – he was in the high court in Nebraska – dads not wanting their sons to be actors,” he said. “But he told me, ‘I want you to go to the Abbey Theater.’ ‘
With his background in acting, Stalmaster often read to the actors he hoped to bring out their best performance during auditions.
“I could look into their eyes and play the scene,” he said in a 2016 interview. “And I’ve probably played more roles than any other actor in history – and women!”
He suggested Travolta for what became his breakout role: Vinnie Barbarino in the sitcom “Welcome Back, Kotter.” Other actors who can thank Stalmaster for the early films include Dreyfuss, who had one series in 1967 ‘The Graduate’, as well as Jon Voight, James Caan, Martin Landau and Jeff Bridges.
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Former Associated Press author Sandy Cohen has compiled biographical material for this obituary.