John Korty Dies: Emmy-Winning ‘The Autobiography Of Miss Jane Pittman’ Director Was 85
deadline.comJohn Korty, who directed the Emmy-winning The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman and the Oscar-winning documentary Who Are the DeBolts?
and Where Did They Get Nineteen Kids?, died March 9 at his home in Marin County, California. He was 85.His death was first reported in the Marin Independent Journal.One of the premiere directors during the made-for-TV movie heyday that began in the early 1970s, Korty helmed the sci-fi chiller The People (1972), the anti-drug drama Go Ask Alice (1973) and, in 1980, the holiday tale A Christmas Without Snow.His greatest television achievement came in 1974, when he directed Cicely Tyson in the celebrated CBS movie The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman.
Based on the 1971 novel by Ernest J. Gaines, the film told the story of a Black woman who, in 1962 at the age of 110, narrates her life story that began in slavery in the American South.
Although works of fiction, both the novel and the TV-movie were presented in the realistic style of autobiography, an approach in vogue at the time following the success of Thomas Berger’s 1964 novel Little Big Man and its 1970 film adaptation by Arthur Penn.The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman was a stand-out among the era’s TV films, scoring critical raves, big ratings and nine Emmy Awards including wins for Korty, Tyson, Tracy Keenan Wynn’s screenplay and the series itself.
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