Hal Ashby

Hal Ashby
Ashby directing Bound for Glory (1976)
Born	William Hal Ashby (1929-09-02)September 2, 1929 Ogden, Utah, U.S.
Died	December 27, 1988(1988-12-27) (aged 59) Malibu, California, U.S.
Occupation	Film director, editor
Years active	1956–1988
Spouse(s)	Joan Marshall

Hal Ashby (September 2, 1929 – December 27, 1988) was an American film director and editor associated with the New Hollywood wave of filmmaking.

Before his career as a director Ashby edited films for Norman Jewison, notably The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming (1966), which earned Ashby an Oscar nomination for Best Editing, and In the Heat of the Night (1967), which earned him his only Oscar for the same category.

Ashby received a third Oscar nomination, this time for Best Director for Coming Home (1978). Other films directed by Ashby include The Landlord (1970), Harold and Maude (1971), The Last Detail (1973), Shampoo (1975), Bound for Glory (1976) and Being There (1979).

Born William Hal Ashby in Ogden, Utah, he grew up in a Mormon household, the son of Eileen Ireta (Hetzler) and James Thomas Ashby, a dairy owner. His tumultuous childhood as part of a dysfunctional family included the divorce of his parents, his father's suicide, and dropping out of high school. Ashby was married and divorced by the time he was 19.

As Ashby was entering adult life, he moved from Utah to California where he soon became an assistant film editor. He edited the black comedy The Loved One which was released in 1965. After being nominated for the Academy Award for Film Editing in 1967 for The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming, his big break occurred in 1968 when he won the award for In the Heat of the Night. Ashby has often stated that film editing provided him with the best film school background outside of traditional university study and he carried the techniques learned as an editor with him when he began directing.