As a director on the "You Are There" (1953) TV series, he was supervised by fellow director Sidney Lumet.
Biography in: John Wakeman, editor. "World Film Directors, Volume Two, 1945-1985." Pages 365-372. New York: The H.W. Wilson Company, 1988.
Children: daughters Elise and Kristi. Kristi is a Location Manager of 20+ years and worked with her father on several projects including his last, Path to War (2002) (TV), for HBO.
Directed "For Whom The Bell Tolls" for "Playhouse 90" (1956), one of the first showcase dramas to be presented in two parts and on tape. The production, which cost $400,000, was the most expensive TV show at that time (1959).
Directed 140 live television dramas for "Studio One in Hollywood" (1948), "Playhouse 90" (1956), "The DuPont Show of the Month" (1957) and other showcase anthologies.
Directed six actors in Oscar-nominated performances: Burt Lancaster, Telly Savalas, Thelma Ritter, Angela Lansbury, Edmond O'Brien, and Alan Bates.
Directed the television debuts of Sir John Gielgud and Ingrid Bergman in "The Browning Version" episode for "The DuPont Show of the Month" (1957) and The Turn of the Screw (1959/I) (TV), respectively.
Famous for his use of innovative camera angles, Frankenheimer was acclaimed for a shot in The Manchurian Candidate (1962) that is slightly out of focus. Frankenheimer said that the shot was an accident.
Grandson Dylan.
Had been working on directing Exorcist: The Beginning (2004) at the time of his death.
Inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in 2002.
Is portrayed by Don Galloway in Rock Hudson (1990) (TV).
One of his biggest dreams when he started directing was to work with a concert orchestra. He eventually did it twice, in Prophecy (1979) and The Holcroft Covenant (1985).
Served in the U. S. Air Force.
The camera-work of most directors in "The Golden Age" of TV drama was static, reflecting most TV directors' backgrounds in the theater, who typically used blocking more appropriate for a stage production. Frankenhiemer was one of the first TV directors to use multiple camera angles, a moving camera, quick editing, and close-ups.
Was approached by Albert R. Broccoli to screen test for the role of James Bond in Dr. No (1962) (Frankenheimer began his career as an actor).
Was fluent in French.
Was originally set to direct Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961) with Marilyn Monroe on the leading role.
When Burt Lancaster walked onto the set the first day of shooting of The Young Savages (1961), he was startled and dismayed to see the camera on the floor, aiming upward. Lancaster had never before worked with a director who used such innovative camera angles. He grew to trust Frankenhiemer, and they made four more films together.
When Senator Robert F. Kennedy was shot at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles on June 5, 1968, it was his good friend John Frankenheimer who had personally driven him there that day.