On This Day

Birthday of John Huston

August 5th 1906

07:33 5 August 2024

Legendary film director John Huston was born on this day in 1906. Huston lived an extremely colourful life. As a young man he worked as a fine art painter in Paris before moving to Mexico where he wrote short stories and plays. Recognition came when he re-located to Hollywood and worked as a screenwriter for films directed by Howard Hawks, William Wyler and others.

The screenplay for 'High Sierra' (1941) led to his directorial debut, the classic film noir 'The Maltese Falcon' (1941) with his good friend Humphrey Bogart. Further successful collaborations with Bogart followed including 'The Treasure of the Sierra Madre' (1948) and 'The African Queen' (1951) for which Bogart won his only Oscar.

Huston's career spanned several decades and numerous genres with such films as 'The Asphalt Jungle' (1950), 'The Red Badge of Courage' (1951), 'The Misfits' (1961), 'Fat City' (1972), 'The Man Who Would Be King' (1975) and 'Prizzi's Honor' (1985).

John Huston passed away in 1987 at his home in Rhode Island. He left behind a body of work that makes him one of the greatest directors in Hollywood history.