Director John Frankenheimer dead at 72

Jul 06, 2002 by Ian Evans

John Frankenheimer, director of classics like The Manchurian Candidate and Birdman of Alcatraz, died Saturday at the age of 72. He died of a stroke due to complications following spinal surgery.

In a career that spanned film and TV, Frankenheimer received 14 Emmy Award nominations. His films included Seven Days in May, All Fall Down, Seconds and Black Sunday.

Beginning in the 90s, Frankenheimer had great success directing for HBO and winning Emmys for Against the Wall, The Burning Season, Andersonville and George Wallace.