ICONIC CAREER

Director of Cult Horror Film Dead at 88

Peter Medak directed dozens of films, television episodes, and music videos during his varied career.

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Peter Medak, the Hungarian-British director behind the cult horror film The Changeling, has died at 88. No cause of death has been given. The director made 27 films during his six-decade career, including the 1990 movie about 1960s British gangsters The Krays and the acclaimed 2018 documentary The Ghost of Peter Sellers. His 1972 cult classic The Ruling Class earned its star, Peter O’Toole, a Best Actor Oscar nomination. Medak’s directorial debut, 1968’s Negatives, featured British two-time Oscar winner and politician Glenda Jackson in one of her early films. Outside of film, Medak directed dozens of television episodes, including The Wire, Breaking Bad, and Chicago Hope. He also directed music videos for artists such as Peter Gabriel and Pink Floyd and staged operas in Minneapolis and Los Angeles. “If it’s in your blood, directing,” he is quoted as saying. “You never stop directing, and it doesn’t matter that you’re alone in your mind, dreaming or imagining things, but you’re always making a movie.” Medak is survived by his children Christopher, Cornelia, Joshua, and Karen, and his grandchildren, Sacha, Marlowe, Ryden, Oliver, and Anders. He was previously married to Katherine La Kermance, Carolyn Seymour, and Julia Migenes.