Frederick Wiseman, the prolific documentarian whose films include “Titicut Follies,” “At Berkeley,” “The National Gallery,” and “Ex Libris,” died Monday. He was 96 years old.
Wiseman’s death was announced in a joint statement by the Wiseman family and Zipporah Films.
“For almost 60 years, Frederic Wiseman has created an unparalleled body of work, primarily in the United States and France, as a comprehensive cinematic record of modern social institutions and ordinary human experience,” the statement reads. “His films, from Titicut Follies (1967) to his latest, Menus Plaisirs – Les Troisgros (2023), have been praised for their complexity, narrative power and humanistic perspective. He has produced and directed all 45 films under the Zippora Films banner.”
Born in Boston, he graduated from Williams College and Yale Law School. The first film he produced was Cool World, directed by Shirley Clark, about life in a Harlem gang. He was also the director and producer of the next film, Titicut Follies, which chronicled the harsh lives of residents of Bridgewater State Hospital for Criminals.
He went on to explore institutional life in more than 40 documentaries, from 1968’s “High School” to “Law & Order,” about the Kansas City Police Department, “Hospitals,” “Public Housing,” and 2020’s “City Hall.”
Wiseman received an honorary Oscar in 2016 and the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the Venice Film Festival in 2014.
His wife of 65 years, Zipporah Batshaw Wiseman, passed away in 2021.
He is survived by two sons, David and Eric, and three grandchildren, Karen Konieczek.
I am a friend and collaborator of his and have worked with him for 45 years.
