Veteran helmer Joseph Sargent passed on December 22, 2014. Mr. Sargent had a long, distinguished career, starting (as did so many directors of his generation) as a prolific television director before moving on to movies. During his nearly 50 year career, Mr. Sargent directed a handful of classics, and more happily, for our purposes, a prime Jabootu classic or two.
Mr. Sargent started in TV, working on the obligatory metric ton of ’60s programs; Bonanza, Lassie, Gunsmoke, The Fugitive, The Man from UNCLE, The Invaders, and a ton more. He directed the pilots for Kojak and The Immortal. His most remembered such work, in these precincts certainly, is surely his helming of the Star Trek episode The Corbomite Maneuver.
In 1970 Mr. Sargent found cult success with Colossus: The Forbin Project. In 1973 he made White Lightning with Burt Reynolds. More importantly, Mr. Sargent made one of the very finest ’70s thrillers–arguably the best decade for such pictures–with 1974’s The Taking of Pelham One Two Three. If you haven’t see that, do so. It’s terrific. Genre fans will also remember titles like The Night America Panicked and 1983’s anthology horror flick Nightmares.
On the Jabootu front Mr. Sargent directed the laughable Susan Anton eugenics piece Goldengirl (1979). We will always cherish him the most, however, for directing Jaws: The Revenge.
Mr. Sargent was 89 at the time of his passing.
