Famous Oscar winning US director dies

Baku. 4 July. REPORT.AZ/ The US director, Oscar winning Michael Cimino has died.

Report informs, he passed away at 78. 

Michael Cimino was born on February 3, 1939 in New York by his music publisher father and costume designer mother, he went to Michigan State and Yale and graduated with an MFA in painting, but ended up finding a career in directing commercials for the likes of United Airlines, Pepsi and more.

His career in Hollywood would start in 1971 when he moved to Los Angeles, co-writing such films as Silent Running starring Bruce Dern and Magnum Force, the second film in the Dirty Harry franchise starring Clint Eastwood. The latter job turned out to be his big breakthrough because Eastwood would agree to star in the 1974 box office hit Thunderbolt and Lightfoot, which marked Cimino’s directorial debut and earned a young Jeff Bridges an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor.