Joseph Sargent

In his nearly five-hour interview, Joseph Sargent (1925-2014) talks about his early years as an actor on stage and in television. He describes learning the directing craft while shooting the television series Lassie, Gunsmoke, and The Man From U.N.C.L.E. Among the other shows he recalls is his now-classic episode for Star Trek, "The Corbomite Maneuver." Sargent outlines the many television movies he directed, which earned him four Emmy awards. He describes the challenging location shooting in the subways of New York City for the film The Taking of Pelham 123 and the thinking behind the premise of Jaws: The Revenge. He speaks fondly of his work with Hollywood screen legends James Cagney (Terrible Joe Moran) and Elizabeth Taylor (There Must Be a Pony). He covers his association with Stanley Kubrick in the pre-production stages of One-Eyed Jacks, his rejection of Sissy Spacek for Coal Miner's Daughter, and casting unknown Pierce Brosnan in the miniseries The Manions of America. He ends by talking about later Emmy-winning television movies he directed, including Miss Evers' Boys, A Lesson Before Dying, Something the Lord Made, and Warm Springs. Gary Rutkowski conducted the interview on March 9, 2006 in Malibu, CA.