Lynn Stalmaster, who was the first cast director to receive an Oscar, died in Los Angeles today. He was 93 and his death was confirmed by Laura Adler of the Casting Society of America.
Stalmaster had a legendary vision for casting. He is admitted to having pulled in Dustin Hoffman The graduate, Christopher Reeve as Superman, and the tablets of the young John Travolta for TV comedy classic Welcome back, Kotter, among many others.
With the Governors Awards taking place in November 2016, Stalmaster becomes the first cast director to receive an Oscar. The honorary Oscar recognized his long and deserving career.
Stalmaster also achieved another notable achievement: over Norman Jewison’s 1968 film The Thomas Crown case Stalmaster becomes the first director to receive a single-card credit in the titles.
Stalmaster has more than 400 cast credits among them Inherit the wind (1960), The great escape (1963), In the heat of the night (1967), They shoot horses, right? (1969), Harold and Maude (1971), Jeremiah Johnson (1972), Tootsie (1982), Nine 1/2 weeks (1986), and The bonfire of vanity (1990).
“Never compromise,” he said at the Governors Awards. “No matter what the size of a role, even if it’s just a reaction.”
Stalmaster was not only good at locating actors. For the 1972 film Liberation, he held a cast at an elementary school in Georgia. There he discovers Billy Redden, who is best remembered as the young banjo player. Ned Beatty was also selected for the film, his first major film.
The list of Stalmaster credits includes William Shatner (Nuremberg pronunciation), LeVar Burton for the instant series Carrots; country singer Mac Davis in North Dallas Forty (1979); and Oscar-nominated Sam Shepard named test pilot Chuck Yger in 1983’s The right thing.
Stalmaster was born on November 17, 1927 in Omaha, Nebraska. His family later moved to Los Angeles and he attended Beverly Hills High School and UCLA, where he earned a master’s degree in theater arts. Early in his career he was an actor in films such as The steel helmet (1951), written and directed by Samuel Fuller, and Flying leather necks (1951), starring John Wayne.
However, the clever Stalmaster protected his bets while working as a producer’s assistant and then made sure to deliver their performances after their original director retired. He became an independent a few years later and never looked back.
Casting Socity of America co-residents Russell Boast and Rich Mento issued a statement on Stalmaster’s passing.
‘A pioneer of our trade, Lynn was a pioneer with more than half a century of world-class film and television credits. He was a friend and mentor to many of us. We express his condolences to his family and friends. Lynn will be deeply, deeply missed. “They ended,”Thank you, Lynn, for showing us the way. ”
The Stalmaster family is preparing an announcement about his passing. We will keep track of survivor information and a memorial when it is issued.