Ulu Grosbard

Born on January 9 of the year of the Great Depression, 1929, in Antwerp (Belgium), Israel Grosbard -“Ulu” was his nickname since childhood- was the second child of a Jewish couple who ran a haberdashery. In May 1940, the country was invaded by the Nazis, but the Grosbards escaped to Havana (Cuba), where to get ahead the boy worked cutting diamonds.

Shortly thereafter, the family obtained residence permits in the United States, and Ulu Grosbard received a BA in English from the University of Chicago, and studied at the Yale School of Drama. In the mid 50’s he served in the army of his adopted country for a season.

Back in civilian life, he was recruited as an assistant director by great directors, such as Robert Rossen , in The Hustler , Elia Kazan , in Splendor in the Grass , and Arthur Penn , in The Miracle of Anna Sullivan .

He made his debut as a theater director on the Off Broadway circuit with the play “The Days and Nights of Beebee Fenstermaker”, which featured actress Rose Gregorio in a starring role, whom he married in 1965. The other leading role was played by a then very young Robert Duvall , who would be under his orders again later in the film True Confessions , and in other theatrical productions, such as “American Buffalo”, for which Grosbard received one of his two Tony nominations. The other was with A Tale of Three Strangers , which also became his debut as a filmmaker, with Patricia Neal and Martin Sheen .

He spent most of his time on stage, since as a film director he only completed seven films. With Dustin Hoffman as the protagonist, he shot Who is Harry Kellerman? , where the actor played a successful author of love songs, and Probation , which realistically depicted the problems of a con man to reintegrate. His biggest hit was the romantic Falling in Love , with great performances by Robert De Niro and Meryl Streep . In Georgia , Jennifer Jason Leigh played a drug-addicted singer, who was envious of her older sister’s success. He closed his filmography with the dramaIn the depths of the ocean , where Michelle Pfeiffer embodied a mother with a guilt complex for having lost her son.

“I was looking forward to working with him again, and I recommended him for Graces and Favors and the Stalin series , but he never got hired,” recalled Robert Duvall.