Celebrity Biographies
mel stuart
Mel Stuart is especially remembered as the director of “A World of Fantasy” in 1971, although throughout his career he specialized mainly in documentary, a genre for which he even received an Oscar nomination. The director died on the night of August 9, 2012 at his home in Los Angeles as a result of cancer. He was 83 years old.
Born on September 2, 1928, New Yorker Stuart Solomon (real name) was the first cousin of Stan Lee , the alma mater of Marvel superheroes, with whom he bears a certain physical resemblance. After adopting the stage name Mel Stuart , he made his debut as a producer and director in 1961 with The Rafer Johnson Story , a television documentary about a famous athlete.
Among his early works, Four Days in November stands out , about the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, for which he won an Oscar nomination in the category of best documentary. His first fictional feature film was the comedy If Today Is Tuesday, This Is Belgium , with Ian McShane as a tour guide.
Married to Roberta Stuart, the filmmaker was the father of three children. Her eldest, Madelaine, excited after reading “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”, Roald Dahl’s children’s classic , suggested that her father take it to the movies. This is how he took charge of the adaptation, finally titled A World of Fantasy , with Gene Wilder leading the cast as the eccentric Willy Wonka. Remembered above all for his musical numbers, the tape was his biggest hit. Little Madeleine appeared briefly on the tape, as well as her brother Peter.
Stuart was also responsible for Bill , a 1981 telefilm in which Mickey Rooney played a mentally handicapped man. In Sofía, Loren portrayed the legendary Italian actress, who played herself and her mother (recently, the star played her mother again in another production). Stuart was active until an advanced age, since at the age of 81 he produced the short documentary Acting Normal .