Clarke, Shirley, 1919-1997

Variant names
Dates:
Birth 1919-10-02
Death 1997-09-23
Birth 1925
Death 1997
Americans
English

Biographical notes:

Shirley Clarke (1925-1997), American independent filmmaker, was a modern dancer before switching to work in film and video. She was probably best known for her films THE CONNECTION (1961), a study of drug addiction initially banned for obscenity in New York State, her oscar-winning 1962 documentary, ROBERT FROST: A LOVER'S QUARREL WITH THE WORLD, and THE COOL WORLD (1963) on a juvenile gang in Harlem. In 1962 she and Jonas Mekas founded the Film-Makers Cooperative, a nonprofit company for the distribution of independent films. Clarke also taught film directing and editing at New York University, Columbia and the University of California at Los Angeles.

From the guide to the Shirley Clarke datebook, 1955-1956, (The New York Public Library. Billy Rose Theatre Division.)

Shirley Clarke (1925-1997), American independent filmmaker, was a modern dancer before switching to work in film and video.

She was probably best known for her films THE CONNECTION (1961), a study of drug addiction initially banned for obscenity in New York State, her oscar-winning 1962 documentary, ROBERT FROST: A LOVER'S QUARREL WITH THE WORLD, and THE COOL WORLD (1963) on a juvenile gang in Harlem. In 1962 she and Jonas Mekas founded the Film-Makers Cooperative, a nonprofit company for the distribution of independent films. Clarke also taught film directing and editing at New York University, Columbia and the University of California at Los Angeles.

From the description of Datebook, 1955-1956. (New York Public Library). WorldCat record id: 122533088

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Subjects:

  • African Americans
  • Dance
  • Documentary films
  • Drug addicts
  • Experimental films
  • Independent filmmakers
  • Motion picture producers and directors
  • Motion pictures
  • Women in the motion picture industry

Occupations:

not available for this record

Places:

  • New York (State)--New York (as recorded)