Jonathan Kaplan, the acclaimed filmmaker and five-time Emmy-nominated director and producer of ER, has passed away. He was 77.
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According to Variety, his daughter Molly Kaplan confirmed that he died on Friday at his Los Angeles home after battling advanced liver cancer.
“RIP Jonathan Kaplan,” Gremlins and Small Soldiers director Joe Dante wrote on Facebook.
“I knew Jonathan since the late 60s,” Dante added. “No finer filmmaker, no better friend. His cancer battle was finally lost Friday morning. His many friends and colleagues will remember him fondly.”
Kaplan was born into a show business family in Paris on Nov. 25, 1947. His father, Sol Kaplan, was a film and TV composer, and his mother, Frances Heflin, appeared on the ABC soap All My Children. He was also the nephew of Oscar-winning actor Van Heflin.
He started as a child actor in the Broadway play The Dark at the Top of the Stairs, directed by Elia Kazan. Kaplan later earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Chicago and studied film at New York University under Martin Scorsese.
Scorsese recommended him to Roger Corman, the legendary low-budget producer known for launching the careers of directors like Joe Dante, Scorsese himself, and James Cameron. Corman offered Kaplan his directorial debut with the 1972 sexploitation film Night Call Nurses, followed by another project in 1973, The Student Teachers. That same year, Kaplan directed The Slams for Corman’s brother, producer Gene Corman. He later ventured into blaxploitation cinema with the cult classic Truck Turner.
In 1975, he directed his first major studio film, White Line Fever, starring Jan-Michael Vincent. His work also includes Mr. Billion, Over the Edge, and TV movies like The Gentleman Bandit, per his IMDb. He directed music videos for Barbra Streisand, Rod Stewart, and John Mellencamp.
Jonathan Kaplan Directed an Oscar-Winning Performance
Meanwhile, Kaplan directed two actresses to Academy Award nominations: Jodie Foster in The Accused (1988) and Michelle Pfeiffer in Love Field (1992). Foster won for her performance.
Kaplan directed an impressive array of talent over the years. In 1987, he helmed Project X, starring Matthew Broderick and Helen Hunt. Two years later, he brought together Glenn Close, James Woods, and Mary Stuart Masterson for 1989’s Immediate Family. His 1992 thriller Unlawful Entry featured Kurt Russell, Ray Liotta, and Madeleine Stowe. Meanwhile, 1994’s Bad Girls united Andie MacDowell, Drew Barrymore, Madeleine Stowe, and Mary Stuart Masterson. His final feature, Brokedown Palace (1999), starred Claire Danes, Kate Beckinsale, and Bill Pullman.
Kaplan received Emmy nominations for Outstanding Drama Series for his work on ER in 1999, 2000 and 2001, alongside John Wells and Michael Crichton. He was also nominated for directing in 2000 and 2001 and directed numerous episodes of the NBC procedural.
He also directed episodes for several high-profile TV shows, including Law & Order: SVU, Crossing Jordan and Without a Trace.
Kaplan was married to casting director Julie Selzer from 1987 to 2001. He is survived by his daughter, sister Nora Heflin, and nieces Hannah and Eliza.