Henry Jaglom, an actor and prolific independent filmmaker, has died. Jaglom was 87.
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His daughter, Sabrina, confirmed the news, telling Deadline, “My father passed at home on Monday with my brother Simon and I and Victoria Foyt by his side.”
Between the early ’90s and mid-2000s, Jaglom released some of his most notable films, including Eating, Venice/Venice, Babyfever, Last Summer in the Hamptons, Déjà Vu, Festival in Cannes, and Going Shopping. Many starred Jaglom and his second wife, Foyt, whom he married in 1991. The couple co-wrote several films, and Eating, Babyfever, and Going Shopping became known as his ‘Women’s Trilogy.’
Born in London on Jan. 26, 1938, Henry David Jaglom was the son of Simon and Marie Jaglom, per The Hollywood Reporter. His father, Simon, was Russian, and Marie descended from German philosopher Moses Mendelssohn. Both parents came from affluent backgrounds.
As an Actor, Henry Jaglom Appeared in Sitcoms Like Gidget Before Becoming a Director
Jaglom grew up in New York City after his family fled the Nazis. He studied acting at the University of Pennsylvania, then worked with Strasberg in New York. Peter Bogdanovich convinced him to move to Hollywood for his first film, Targets (1968), initially considering Jaglom for a role he later took himself.
Jaglom guest-starred on the Sally Field sitcoms Gidget and The Flying Nun, and appeared in the feature The 1000 Plane Raid (1969). According to THR, he was also a contender for Benjamin Braddock in The Graduate (1967), a role Dustin Hoffman ultimately played.
He first worked behind the camera as an editor on Dennis Hopper’s Easy Rider.
He directed his first film, A Safe Place, in 1972. It starred Jack Nicholson, Tuesday Weld, and Orson Welles. Welles became a friend and frequent collaborator. A Safe Place focused on a female protagonist (Weld), a common theme in Jaglom’s films.
His next film, Tracks, starred another Easy Rider actor, Dennis Hopper, alongside Dean Stockwell in a story about a soldier returning from Vietnam.
He married Patrice Townsend in 1979; they divorced in 1983.
Many of Jaglom’s films, including Venice/Venice (starring Jaglom, Nelly Alard, Melissa Leo, David Duchovny, and John Landis), were set in and around the film industry. Other notable titles include Last Summer in the Hamptons, Someone to Love (which features Orson Welles’ final film performance), Festival in Cannes, Hollywood Dreams, Queen of the Lot, The M Word, and Ovation. The last four starred Tanna Frederick, who was featured in the director’s final six films.
In 2013, Jaglom published My Lunches With Orson: Conversations Between Henry Jaglom and Orson Welles.
He is survived by his children, Sabrina and Simon Jaglom.