Mark Rydell
- Known for
- Directing
- Born
- March 23, 1929
- Died
- August 13, 2026
- Birthplace
- New York City, New York, USA
Mark Rydell (March 23, 1929 — August 13, 2026) was an American actor, film director and producer. He has directed many Academy Award-nominated films including The Fox (1967), The Reivers (1969), Cinderella Liberty (1973), The Rose (1979), The River (1984) and For the Boys (1991). He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Director for On Golden Pond (1981). Rydell's initial training was in music. As a youth, he wanted to be a conductor. He began his career as an actor and first became known for his role as Walt Johnson on The Edge of Night and as Jeff Baker on As the World Turns, which he played from 1956 to 1962. When he would not sign a long-term contract to remain on ATWT the producers had his character die in a car crash. He won plaudits for his role of violent Jewish mob kingpin Marty Augustine in Robert Altman's The Long Goodbye (1973). His most recent significant film role was in Woody Allen's Hollywood Ending (2002). As a director, Rydell's credits include The Reivers (1969), The Cowboys (1972), Cinderella Liberty (1973), The Rose (1979), On Golden Pond (1981), for which he received an Oscar nomination as Best Director, The River (1984), For the Boys (1991), and Intersection (1994). He directed the TV movie The Crime of the Century (1996), which starred Isabella Rossellini and Stephen Rea. In 2006, Rydell directed the movie Even Money. Rydell was also the director of the TV bio-pic James Dean (2001), which earned actor James Franco a Golden Globe award. Rydell also acted in the movie, playing Jack L. Warner (head of Warner Bros). In 2009, Rydell, working with actor Martin Landau and screenwriter/playwright Lyle Kessler, produced an education seminar, The Total Picture Seminar. It is a two-day event covering the disciplines of acting, directing, and writing for film. The three have worked together as a team for many decades at The Actors Studio teaching and coaching professional actors, writers, and directors. In 2010, Rydell joined the Advisory Board of Openfilm, an online video sharing site created to help aspiring independent filmmakers. Description above from the Wikipedia article Mark Rydell, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia
Filmography
- Presenting Geraldine Page
Presenting Geraldine Page TBA
Actor
Senior Entourage 2021
as Mark
Chicanery 2017
as Jack Sobel
Close Encounters with Vilmos Zsigmond 2016
as Self
A Coup in Camelot 2015
Executive Producer
Char·ac·ter 2012
as Self
Good Men 2011
as Marcus
Embracing Chaos: Making The African Queen 2010
as Self
No Subtitles Necessary: Laszlo & Vilmos 2009
as Self
- The Cowboys: Together Again
The Cowboys: Together Again 2007
as Himself
Even Money 2007
Director, Producer
An Unfinished Life 2005
Executive Producer
James Dean: Sense Memories 2005
as Self
Hollywood Ending 2002
as Al
James Dean 2001
as Jack Warner, Director, Executive Producer
A Man Is Mostly Water 2000
as Distributor
Henry Fonda: Hollywood's Quiet Hero 1997
as Self
Crime of the Century 1996
Director
Intersection 1994
Director, Producer
For the Boys 1991
Director, Executive Producer
The Man in the Moon 1991
Producer
Havana 1990
as Meyer Lansky
- Sanford Meisner: The American Theatre's Best Kept Secret
Sanford Meisner: The American Theatre's Best Kept Secret 1990
as Self
Punchline 1988
as Romeo
The River 1984
Director
On Golden Pond 1981
Director
The Rose 1979
Director
Harry and Walter Go to New York 1976
Director
Cinderella Liberty 1973
as Gutteral Mischief (as Marty Augustine), Director, Producer
The Long Goodbye 1973
as Marty Augustine
The Cowboys 1972
Director, Producer
- The Breaking of Boys and the Making of Men in 'The Cowboys'
The Breaking of Boys and the Making of Men in 'The Cowboys' 1972
Actor
The Reivers 1969
Director
The Fox 1967
Director
Crime in the Streets 1956
as Lou Macklin
Credits from TMDB.