Kershner, Irvin 1923- (Irv Kershner)

PERSONAL

Born April 29, 1923, in Philadelphia, PA. Education: Attended Temple University, 1946, Drexel Institute of Technology (now Drexel University), and Cambridge University; graduated from University of Southern California.

Career:

Director, actor, and producer. U.S. Information Services, documentary filmmaker in the Middle East, 1950-52; Ophite Productions, former affiliate.

Member:

Directors Guild of America.

Awards, Honors:

OCIC Award of International Catholic Organization for Cinema and Audiovisual and nomination for Golden Palm, both Cannes Film Festival, 1961, for Hoodlum Priest; Emmy Award nomination, outstanding directing in a special dramatic program, 1977, for Raid on Entebbe; Saturn Award, best director, Academy of Science Fiction, Horror, and Fantasy Films, 1981, for The Empire Strikes Back; President Award, director of distinction, Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival, 2002.

CREDITS

Film Director:

Stakeout on Dope Street, Warner Bros., 1958.

The Young Captives, Paramount, 1959.

Hoodlum Priest, United Artists, 1961.

A Face in the Rain, Embassy, 1963.

The Luck of Ginger Coffey, Continental Distributing, 1964.

A Fine Madness, Warner Bros., 1966.

The Flim-Flam Man (released in England as One Born Every Minute), Twentieth Century-Fox, 1967.

Loving, Columbia, 1970.

Up the Sandbox, National General, 1972.

S*P*Y*S, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1974.

The Return of a Man Called Horse, United Artists, 1976.

Eyes of Laura Mars, Columbia, 1978.

The Empire Strikes Back (also known as Star Wars: Episode V—The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars V: The Empire Strikes Back), Twentieth Century-Fox, 1980.

Never Say Never Again, Warner Bros., 1983.

Robocop 2, Orion, 1990.

Film Work; Other:

Executive producer, Wildfire, Zupnik Enterprises, 1988.

Producer, American Perfekt, American Perfekt Productions, 1997.

Film Appearances:

Zebedee, The Last Temptation of Christ, Universal, 1988.

Walters, On Deadly Ground, Warner Bros., 1994.

Mr. Stoff, Angus (also known as Angus-Voll Cool), 1996.

Himself, Tell Them Who You Are (documentary), ThinkFilm, 2004.

Himself, Geeks (documentary), Post No Bills Films, 2004.

(As Irv Kershner) Statistics professor, Berkeley, Jeffrey White Productions/Jung N Restless Productions, 2005.

Television Work; Series:

Director, Confidential File (also known as Paul Coates's "Confidential File"), syndicated, 1953-55.

Television Director; Movies:

Raid on Entebbe, NBC, 1977.

Traveling Man, HBO, 1989.

Television Director; Episodic:

"Land," The Rebel, ABC, 1960.

"Degrees of Guilt," Cain's Hundred, 1961.

"My Good Friend Krikor," Ben Casey, ABC, 1961.

"And by the Sweat of Thy Brow," Naked City, ABC, 1962.

"The End of the World, Baby," Kraft Suspense Theatre, 1963.

"Hell Toupee," Amazing Stories, (also known as Steven Spielberg's "Amazing Stories"), 1986.

"To Be or Not to Be," SeaQuest DSV (also known as SeaQuest 2032), 1993.

Television Appearances; Movies:

(As Irv Kershner) Gentleman, Manhood, Showtime, 2003.

Television Appearances; Specials:

SPFX: The Empire Strikes Back, CBS, 1980.

From "Star Wars" to "Jedi:" The Making of a Saga, PBS, 1983.

Star Wars: The Magic and the Mystery, 1997.

Hans Hofmann: Artist/Teacher, Teacher/Artist, 2003.

Empire of Dreams: The Story of the "Star Wars" Trilogy, Arts and Entertainment, 2004.

When Star Wars Ruled the World, VH1, 2004.

"Star Wars:" Feel the Force, 2005.

Shooting the Police: Cops on Film, Starz, 2006.

Television Appearances; Episodic:

Showbiz Today, Cable News Network, 1991.

RECORDINGS

Videos:

Ray Harryhausen: The Early Years Collection, Sparkhill Productions, 2005.

Ben-Hur: The Epic that Changed Cinema, Warner Bros. Entertainment, 2005.

WRITINGS

Screenplays:

Coauthor, Stakeout on Dope Street (also based on story by Kershner), Warner Bros., 1958.

(Uncredited) Coauthor, A Man Called Horse, National General, 1970.

OTHER SOURCES

Periodicals:

American Film, January-February, 1981, pp. 45-51.

Shock Cinema, Issue 24, 2004, pp. 34-36.