Bud Greenspan
| Bud Greenspan | |
|---|---|
| Born |
September 18, 1926 New York City |
| Died | December 25, 2010 (aged 84) New York City |
| Residence | New York City |
| Alma mater | New York University |
| Known for | Sports documentaries, especially Olympics |
| Awards | Lifetime Achievement Award (Directors Guild of America and National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences), 1985 Olympic Order (International Olympic Committee) |
Jonah J. "Bud" Greenspan (September 18, 1926 – December 25, 2010) was a film director, writer, and producer known for his sports documentaries. His distinctive appearance in later years included wearing his large, dark-framed glasses atop his shaved head.
Greenspan was born in New York City. He overcame a lisp in adolescence and went into sports broadcasting after graduating from New York University. In 1947 Greenspan became sports director at New York City's WMGM, at that time the largest sports radio station in the US, when he was 21 years old. When he left WMGM, Greenspan began contributing articles to magazines while also producing television commercials.
He dabbled in documentary filmmaking in 1952, with The Strongest Man in the World, a 15-minute feature on weightlifter John Davis, but he began his filmmaking career in earnest in 1964, accompanying Jesse Owens to West Berlin to film Jesse Owens Returns to Berlin. In 1967, he formed his own film company, Cappy Productions, Inc., with wife Cappy Petrash Greenspan (deceased 1983). After his wife's death, Greenspan ran Cappy Productions with his companion Nancy Beffa.
Several hour-long productions followed. Greenspan won his first Emmy for 1976's The Olympiad, 22-hour-long documentary specials on the Olympics (including Jesse Owens Returns to Berlin). The series was broadcast in 80 countries. In 1977, he branched into docudrama with the two-hour movie of the week biography of gold-medalist Wilma Rudolph. Wilma, starring Cicely Tyson, featured Denzel Washington in his first movie role. In 1979, he launched the first of several vignette series: This Day in Sports, which aired on CBS, featured 365 30-second film shorts highlighting exciting sports moments from years past. It was followed in 1980 by the similar Olympic Moments, Olympic Events and Olympic Vignettes.
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