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{{short description|American film director}}
{{article issues|article=yes|cleanup=March 2010|primarysources=March 2010|sections=March 2010|wikify=March 2010}}
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'''John D. Hancock''' (born 12 February 1939, [[Kansas City, Missouri]]) he is an American stage and film director, producer and writer. He is the son of Ralph and Ella Mae Rosenthal Hancock. <ref>Vital Records, 2400 Troost Ave., Kansas City, MO 61408</ref>{{Citation needed|date=January 2010}} His father was a musician with the NBC orchestra in Chicago and his mother a school teacher. Hancock spent his youth between their home in Chicago and their fruit farm in LaPorte, IN. In high school he was the Assistant Concertmaster of the Chicago Youth Orchestra playing the violin.<ref>http://www.filmacres.com/HANCOCK.HTML</ref>


{{other people|John Hancock}}
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Hancock graduated from Harvard. <ref> Harvard 1961 Alumni Association </ref> He continued his theatrical studies in Europe with a grant from Harvard including observing Bertolt Brecht's Berliner Ensemble.
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2020}}
{{Infobox person
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| name = John D. Hancock
| image =
| caption =
| birthname =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1939|02|12}}
| birth_place = [[Kansas City, Missouri]], U.S.
| alma_mater = [[Harvard University]]
| death_date =
| death_place =
| occupation = Director, producer, screenwriter
}}


'''John D. Hancock''' (born February 12, 1939) is an American stage and film director, producer and writer. He is perhaps best known for his work on ''[[Bang the Drum Slowly (film)|Bang the Drum Slowly]]''. Hancock's theatrical work includes direction of both classic and contemporary plays, from Shakespeare to [[Saul Bellow]].<ref name=filmacres.com />
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He made his New York City directorial debut at age twenty-two with the Off-Broadway hit production of Brecht's ''A Man's A Man.''<ref>http://www.IOBDB.com</ref><ref>http://www.lortel.org/LLA_archive/index.cfm</ref> This was followed by Robert Lowell's ''Endicott and the Red Cross''<ref>http://www.IOBDB.com</ref><ref>http://www.lortel.org/LLA_archive/index.cfm</ref> at the American Place Theatre and in 1968 Shakespeare's ''A Midsummer Night's Dream''<ref>http://www.IOBDB.com</ref> at the Theatre de Lys with sets by Jim Dine. Hancock won the Obie for Distinguished Director for the 1967-68 season.<ref>http://www.IOBDB.com</ref><ref>http://www.lortel.org/LLA_archive/index.cfm</ref> Cue Magazine noted, "This brutal, vulgar, and erotic production of Shakespeare's sex fantasy is the most original and arresting I've ever witnessed. This is the best of all the Dreams and an important pioneering effort in re-interpreting the play."<ref>Cue Magazine, 1967</ref><ref>http://www.filmacres.com</ref> Hancock's theatrical work includes direction of both classic and contemporary plays, from Shakespeare to Saul Bellow.<ref>http://filmacres.com/HANCOCK.HTMN#anchor859283</ref>


==Early life==
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Hancock's success on the New York stage led to his appointment as Artistic Director of the famed San Francisco Actor's Workshop in 1965. <ref>Stone, Judith, Making A Small Miracle, The New York Times, January 2,1966</ref> He later was appointed Artistic Director of the Pittsburgh Playhouse <ref>Novick, Julius (1968). ''Beyond Broadway The Quest for Permanent Theatres'' New York: Hill and Wang, SBN 8090-0547-6, p31-35</ref> and The New Repertory Theatre in New York City.
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John was born in [[Kansas City, Missouri]], the son of Ralph and Ella Mae Rosenthal Hancock.<ref>Christopher Sheid : [https://www.nwitimes.com/uncategorized/hancock-sees-both-sides-of-human-nature/article_6afa277a-8e68-5378-bcd1-4e6abf5d8a34.html ''Hancock sees both sides of human nature''], NWI Times, April 23, 2000.</ref> His father was a musician with the [[NBC Symphony Orchestra]] in Chicago, Illinois, and his mother a schoolteacher. Hancock spent his youth between their home in Chicago and their fruit farm in [[La Porte, Indiana]]. In high school, he was the Assistant Concertmaster of the Chicago Youth Orchestra playing the violin.<ref name=filmacres.com>[http://filmacres.wordpress.com/john-hancock/ John D. Hancock] at Filmacres.com</ref>


⚫
Hancock graduated from [[Harvard University]]. He continued his theatrical studies in Europe with a grant from Harvard<ref name="spy thriller drama" /> and observed [[Bertolt Brecht]]'s [[Berliner Ensemble]].<ref name=filmacres.com />
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Hancock worked closely on several occasions with Tennessee Williams, who states in his book MEMOIRS "... under the inspired direction of John Hancock--the only director who has ever suggested to me transpositions of material that were artistically effective--..."<ref>Williams, Tennessee (1975,2006). ''MEMOIRS, With An Introduction By John Waters'' New York: A New Directions Book, ISBN-13: 978-0-8112-1669-2, p. 201</ref>


==Career==
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Hancock wrote and directed the play '''The Brother''' in 2007 for a 12-week run at the Theatre Building in Chicago.<ref>http://www.theatrebuildingchicago.org</ref> The spy thriller is based on the book written by Sam Roberts noted author and New York Times editor.<ref>http://www.reelchicago.com/story.cfm?storyID=1677</ref> The play is based mostly on the untold story of David Greenglass who turned in Julius and Ethel Rosenberg for giving atomic bomb secrets to the Russians. "It (''The Brother)'' is incredibly powerful. It is exceptional and really not to be missed."<ref>Kleinman, Kelly, Chicago Public Radio-WWEBZ, Eight Forty-Eight, Dueling Critics, Pick of the Week, September 9, 2007</ref>
⚫
He made his directorial debut at age 22 with the [[Off-Broadway]] hit production of [[Bertolt Brecht]]'s ''[[Man Equals Man]]''.<ref name=IOBDB>[http://www.lortel.org/LLA_archive/index.cfm?search_by=people&keyword=name&first=John&last=Hancock&middle= John Hancock] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20130704045118/http://www.lortel.org/LLA_archive/index.cfm?search_by=people&keyword=name&first=John&last=Hancock&middle= |date=July 4, 2013 }} at the Internet Off-Broadway Database, Lortel Archives, Lucille Lortel Foundation</ref> This was followed by [[Robert Lowell]]'s ''Endicott and the Red Cross''. In 1968, Hancock directed [[Shakespeare]]'s ''[[A Midsummer Night's Dream]]'', which won him the [[Obie Award]] for Distinguished Director for the 1967–68 season.<ref name=IOBDB /> ''Cue Magazine'' noted, "This brutal, vulgar and erotic production of Shakespeare's sex fantasy is the most original and arresting I've ever witnessed. This is the best of all the Dreams and an important pioneering effort in re-interpreting the play."<ref>''Cue Magazine'', 1967.</ref>


⚫
Hancock's success on the New York stage led to his appointment as Artistic Director of the famed San Francisco [[Actor's Workshop]] in 1965.<ref>Stone, Judith. "Making A Small Miracle", ''The New York Times'', January 2, 1966.</ref> He later was appointed Artistic Director of the [[Pittsburgh Playhouse]]<ref>Novick, Julius (1968). ''Beyond Broadway The Quest for Permanent Theatres'' New York: Hill and Wang, SBN 8090-0547-6, p31-35</ref> and The New Repertory Theatre in New York City.
⚫
In 2007, Hancock also directed a 12-week run of the Pultizer winner '''night,MOTHER''' starring Elaine Rivkin and Dorothy Tristan at the Theatre Building in Chicago<ref>http://www.theatrebuildingchicago.org</ref> which opened to rave reviews from the Chicago Reader.<ref>http://chicagoreader.com/theatre, September 2007</ref>


⚫
Hancock worked closely on several occasions with playwright and author [[Tennessee Williams]], who stated in his book ''Memoirs'' that Hancock was "the only director who has ever suggested to me transpositions of material that were artistically effective..."<ref>Williams, Tennessee (1975, 2006). ''Memoirs, With An Introduction By John Waters'', New York: A New Directions Book, {{ISBN|978-0-8112-1669-2}}, p.201.</ref>
In July 2009, '''Noises Off''' directed by John Hancock played to rave reviews and sell out houses at the Wellfleet Harbor Arts Theatre Julie Harris Stage on Cape Cod, MA.<ref>W.H.A.T.-Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater, August 2009</ref>
"Making his Wellfleet debut, Academy Award-nominated and Obie Award-winning director John Hancock displays his ability to make a play flow smoothly. A fast-paced romp from beginning to end. A backstage pass to hilarity."<ref>Watters, John. WHAT's ''Noises Off'' puts laughter center stage. Barnstable Patriot, July 10, 2009. www.barnstablepatriot.com</ref>
"If you need a laugh, you're guaranteed to get many of them at this '''Noises Off.''' Director John Hancock is working here almost more as traffic cop or circus ringmaster or knife juggler as he skillfully keeps his nine actors racing through meticulous comedic choreography."<ref>Driscoll, Kathi Scrizzi, WHAT's 'Noises Off' whips right along. Cape Cod Times, July 02, 2009.</ref>
"Academy Award-nominated and Obie Award-winning director John Hancock has pulled together a cast of nine who are experts in timing, the main ingredient for this fact-paced play within a play. WHAT's '''Noises Off''' is an assignment in glee, it is a sure winner that brings not only hee-haws from the audience but gut-wrenching chortles. Be prepared to laugh."<ref>North, Melora B. WHAT's 'Noises Off' is spot-on comedy in Wellfleet, Provincetown Banner, July 11, 2009.</ref>
"The audiences have been literally gasping, hooting, roaring with laughter! It closed out it record breaking run directed by John Hancock."<ref>Zinn, Jeff. W.H.A.T. - Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater Blog, August 19, 2009</ref>


1970, his ''Sticky My Fingers... Fleet My Feet''&nbsp; was nominated for the [[Academy Award for Live Action Short Film|Short-Subject Live-Action]] [[Academy Award|Oscar]].<ref>[http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0359386/awards "Awards for John D. Hancock"] at IMDb</ref> Hancock directed this award winning short film with a grant from the American Film Institute.<ref>http://www.AmericanFilmInstitue.com</ref> CBS purchased the short film and aired it during halftime of their Thanksgiving football game. It was released nationally with the Woody Allen feature ''Bananas''.<ref>http://www.IMDB.com/Bananas</ref> ''Sticky My Fingers...Fleet My Feet'' is available in many libraries.<ref>www.worldcat.org/Sticky My Feet...Fleet My Feet</ref>
In 1970, his "Sticky My Fingers...Fleet My Feet" was nominated for a [[Academy Award for Live Action Short Film|Short-Subject Live-Action]] [[Academy Award]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://awardsdatabase.oscars.org/Search/Nominations?nomineeId=5995&view=1-Nominee-Alpha|title=Browser Unsupported - Academy Awards Search &#124; Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences}}</ref> Hancock directed the short film with a grant from the [[American Film Institute]]. [[CBS]] purchased the movie and aired it during halftime of their Thanksgiving football game. It was released nationally with the [[Woody Allen]] feature ''[[Bananas (film)|Bananas]]''.


As a feature film director, he is best known for the 1973 film ''[[Bang the Drum Slowly (film)|Bang the Drum Slowly]]'', starring [[Robert De Niro]]. His other film-directing credits in the 1970s were ''California Dreaming'', ''[[Let's Scare Jessica to Death]]'', and ''Baby Blue Marine''.<ref name="filmacres"/> He was divorced from Ann Arensberg in 1974, and married actress [[Dorothy Tristan]] in December 1975.
As a feature film director, he is best known for the 1973 film ''[[Bang the Drum Slowly (film)|Bang the Drum Slowly]]'', starring [[Robert De Niro]] and [[Michael Moriarty]]. Hancock's other early film credits were ''[[Let's Scare Jessica to Death]]'' (1971)<ref>{{cite news | url=https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9C02E7DB163DEF34BC4051DFBE66838A669EDE | title=Let's Scare Jessica to Death | author-link=Roger Greenspun |first= Roger |last= Greenspun| newspaper=[[The New York Times]] | access-date=May 5, 2011 | date=August 28, 1971}}</ref> and ''[[Baby Blue Marine]]'' (1976). He worked on ''[[Jaws 2]]'' (1978) before being removed from the production.


Hancock served on the '''Board of Trustees''' for the '''American Film Institute''' between 1973-1977.<ref>http://www. American Film Institute.com</ref>
Hancock served on the board of trustees for the [[American Film Institute]] between 1973 and 1977.<ref name="American Film Institute">[http://www.AmericanFilmInstitute.com American Film Institute]</ref>


A very difficult and controversial period for Hancock involved ''[[Jaws 2]]'' which impacted his career as a director. Hancock did not have the experience to deal with the bureaucracy and became a pawn between the powerful political Hollywood studio players.<ref name="safe companion">Jankiewicy, Patrick. (2009) ''Just When You Thought It Was Safe: A JAWS Companion'', BearManor Media, Albany, Georgia, p.190, {{ISBN|1593933347}}</ref> He was the original director of ''Jaws 2'', and his wife Dorothy Tristan did rewrites of the original screenplay by [[Howard Sackler]], who had recommended Hancock for the job.
A very difficult and controversial period that surrounded Hancock involved Jaws 2 which impacted his career as a director. Hancock did not have the experience to deal with the bureaucracy and became a pawn beetween the powerful political Hollywood studio players.<ref>Jankiewicy, Patrick. (2009) Just When You Thought It Ws Safe: A JAWS Companion, BearManor Media, Albanby, GA, ISBN 1-59383-334-7. p.190</ref> He was the original director of ''[[Jaws 2]]'', with his wife invited to work on rewrites of the screenplay. Hancock began to feel the pressure of directing his first epic adventure film "with only three film credits, and all small-scale dramas".<ref>{{cite book | last=Loynd |first=Ray |year=1978 |title=The Jaws 2 Log |location=London |publisher=W.H. Allen |isbn=0-426-18868-3 |page=66}}</ref> "My Jaws 2 was darker than the first Jaws. I thought, 'This Island has suffered a terrible calamity and we ought to show the residue of that.' We really got into it and took it seriously. We treated it as if Jaws had really happended and these are the reprecussions on the community. The economy is ruined because no one wants to go to Amity after the shark. Roy Sheider's Brody is haunted by it. He has nightmares, and sees sharks everywhere."<ref>Janiewicz, Patrick, (2009) Just When You Thought It Was Safe: A JAWS Companion. BearManor Media, Albanby, GA, ISBN 1-59383-334-7. p. 187</ref> "Not everyone wanted the dark tone. "When she saw the dailies, Verna Fields said, 'It's so contrasty and blue, can that be changed if we decided to fix that in post [production]?' The cameraman said 'Absolutely!' That didn't become a problem - the problem really was the power struggle between Zanuck and Sheinberg over the overages on the first picture and 'who was the better man' - that kind of thing."<ref>Jankiewicz, Patrick. (2009) Just When You Thought It Was Safe: A JAWS Companion, BearsManor Media, Albanby, GA, ISBN 1-59383-334-7. p. 187-188</ref> "Obviously, what I should have done then was to get Zanuck and Sheinberg in the same roon and say, "Okay", you guys should give me direction, because I really don't want to get between you two. I was caught between these huge forces like a babe in the woods and paid the price for it. Jaws 2 is a very bitter, painful experience that took years to recover from."<ref>Jankiewicz, Patrick. (2009) Just When You Thought It Was Safe: A JAWS Companion, BearManor Media Albanby, GA, ISBN 1-59383-334-7. p.190</ref> June 1977, after a meeting with the producers and Universal executives, the director was fired. He and his wife were unexpectedly whisked away to [[Rome]] and production was shut down for a few weeks. They had been involved in the film for eighteen months.<ref>Loynd, p 70</ref> The role was taken over by [[Jeannot Szwarc]].


Hancock ran into trouble with MCA executive [[Sid Sheinberg]]. Sheinberg suggested to Hancock and Tristan that his wife [[Lorraine Gary]] "should go out on a boat and help to rescue the kids." When told of the idea, producer [[Richard D. Zanuck]] replied, "Over my dead body." "Obviously, what I should have done then was to get Zanuck and Sheinberg in the same room and say: 'Okay, you guys should give me direction because I really don't want to get between you two.' I was caught between these huge forces like a babe in the woods and paid the price for it. ''Jaws 2'' is a very bitter, painful experience that took years to recover from."<ref name="safe companion" /> In June 1977, after a meeting with the producers and Universal executives, the director was abruptly fired and production shut down for a few weeks. They had been involved in the film for eighteen months.<ref>{{cite book | last=Loynd |first=Ray |year=1978 |title=The Jaws 2 Log |location=London |publisher=W.H. Allen |isbn=0-426-18868-3 |page=70}}</ref> [[Jeannot Szwarc]] was hired to take over as director, and the script was rewritten by [[Carl Gottlieb]].
In the 1980s, he directed on television and in films such as the [[Nick Nolte]] prison story ''[[Weeds (film)|Weeds]]'' and the holiday family movie ''[[Prancer (film)|Prancer]]''.<ref name="filmacres">[http://www.filmacres.com/HANCOCK.HTML Meet the Director, Writer and Producers!<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>


Hancock followed his difficult experiences on ''[[Jaws 2]]'' by directing the comedy/drama ''[[California Dreaming (1979 film)|California Dreaming]]'' (1979), starring Dennis Christopher and Hancock's actress wife, Dorothy Tristan. Ironically, Hancock later replaced [[Michael Wadleigh]] as director on the troubled allegorical horror film ''[[Wolfen (film)|Wolfen]]'' (1981), which was a box office failure but has steadily built a cult reputation over the years. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Hancock directed acclaimed episodes of NBC's ''[[Hill Street Blues]]''<ref name="filmacres.com"/> and CBS's [[The Twilight Zone (1985 TV series)|''The Twilight Zone'' (1985 series)]], the latter including an adaptation of Theodore Sturgeon's science-fantasy story "A Saucer of Loneliness".<ref name="filmacres.com"/>
In 1998, Hancock opened his production company FilmAcres <ref>http://www.filmacres.com</ref> in LaPorte, IN.
In 1999, he produced and directed '''A Piece of Eden''' starring Tyne Daly.<ref>http://imdb.com/A Piece of Eden</ref> It is a semi-autobiographical story about a fruit farm and the relationship between a father and his son. The suspense thriller '''Suspended Animation''' <ref>http://imdb.com/Suspended Animation</ref>was directed by Hancock in 2001.


He also directed the prison drama ''[[Weeds (1987 film)|Weeds]]'' (1987), starring [[Nick Nolte]], and the holiday family film ''[[Prancer (film)|Prancer]]'' (1989), about an eight-year-old girl who discovers an injured reindeer she believes belongs to Santa Claus.


In 1998, Hancock opened his production company FilmAcres in LaPorte, Indiana,<ref name="about filmacres">{{cite web| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20020407151336/http://www.filmacres.com/FILMACRE.HTML |url= http://www.filmacres.com/FILMACRE.HTML| archive-date= April 7, 2002 | title= FilmAcres |access-date= April 11, 2013}}</ref> where he spent some of his childhood. In 1999, he produced and directed ''[[A Piece of Eden]]'' starring [[Tyne Daly]]. It is a semi-autobiographical story about a fruit farm and the relationship between a father and his son. The suspense thriller ''[[Suspended Animation (film)|Suspended Animation]]'' was directed by Hancock in 2002.
'''AWARDS'''


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Hancock wrote and directed the play ''The Brother'' in 2007 for a 12-week run at the Theatre Building in Chicago.<ref name=tables>{{cite news| title='Brother' turns tables on Rosenberg story |url= https://www.chicagotribune.com/2007/09/07/brother-turns-tables-on-rosenberg-story/ |date= September 7, 2007| first= Nina |last= Metz |newspaper= [[Chicago Tribune]] | access-date= April 11, 2013}}</ref> The spy thriller is based on the book written by Sam Roberts, a noted author and ''New York Times'' reporter and editor.<ref name="spy thriller drama">{{cite web| title= Acclaimed filmmaker John Hancock returns to the theatre with production of a spy thriller drama | date= August 10, 2007 | publisher=ReelChicago.com | url=http://www.reelchicago.com/article/acclaimed-filmmaker-john-hancock-returns-theatre-production-spy-thriller-drama|access-date= April 11, 2013}}</ref><ref name=tables /> The play is based mostly on the untold story of David Greenglass who turned in [[Julius and Ethel Rosenberg]] for giving atomic bomb secrets to the Russians. "It (''The Brother)'' is incredibly powerful. It is exceptional and really not to be missed."<ref>Kleinman, Kelly. "Dueling Critics, Pick of the Week", ''Eight Forty-Eight'', Chicago Public Radio [[WBEZ]], September 9, 2007.</ref>
'''Brandeis University - Citation in Film'''<ref>www.Brandeis University.com</ref>
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Creative Arts Award Commission for '''Sticky My Fingers...Fleet My Feet'''.
"A gifted young director, he won an Academy Award Nomination with his first film a short subject titled '''Sticky My Fingers...Fleet My Feet'''. His next effort a full length feature, was a psychological thriller, '''Let's Scare Jessica to Death'''. It moved Mr. Hancock from comedy to terror in one long leap. He took yet another leap forward in his most ambitions and certainly his best film to date, with a fine sense of pace and artful composition, this recent work help pop Robert DeNiro into stardom and introduced another fine actor, Michael Moriarty, to films. His flair for warm comedy, gentle satire and strong emotional sensitivity combine to fashion motion pictures that are increasingly hailed by critics and audiences alike."<ref>Marvin H. Bernstein, President Brandeis University</ref>


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In 2007, Hancock also directed a 12-week run of the [[Pulitzer Prize for Drama|Pulitzer-winner]] ''[[night, Mother]]'' starring Elaine Rivkin and Dorothy Tristan at the Theatre Building in Chicago which opened to rave reviews from the ''Chicago Reader''.<ref>{{cite news| url= http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/night-mother/Content?oid=925981| first= Albert | last= Williams | title= 'night, Mother | newspaper= [[Chicago Reader]] | date= September 20, 2007 | access-date= April 11, 2013}}</ref>
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'''Outstanding Achievement Critics Choice - Sticky My Fingers...Fleet My Feet'''. American Film Institute <ref>www.AmericanFilmInstitute</ref>


In July 2009, ''[[Noises Off]]'', under direction by Hancock, received generally positive reviews and sell out houses at the Wellfleet Harbor Arts Theatre Julie Harris Stage in [[Cape Cod]], [[Massachusetts]].<ref>Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater (WHAT), August 2009</ref> "...Hancock displays his ability to make a play flow smoothly. A fast-paced romp from beginning to end. A backstage pass to hilarity."<ref>{{cite news| last= Watters |first= John |title= WHAT's ''Noises Off'' puts laughter center stage| newspaper= [[Barnstable Patriot]] | date= July 10, 2009 | url= http://www.barnstablepatriot.com/home2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=18477&Itemid=34 | access-date= April 11, 2013}}</ref> "Director John Hancock is working here almost more as traffic cop or circus ringmaster or knife juggler as he skillfully keeps his nine actors racing through meticulous comedic choreography."<ref>{{cite news |last= Driscoll |first= Kathi Scrizzi |title= WHAT's 'Noises Off' whips right along |newspaper= [[Cape Cod Times]] |date= July 2, 2009 |url= http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090702/LIFE/307029907 |access-date= April 11, 2013 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131029201848/http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20090702%2FLIFE%2F307029907 |archive-date= October 29, 2013 |df= mdy-all }}</ref>


==Filmography==
* ''Sticky My Fingers, Fleet My Feet'' (1970)
* ''[[Let's Scare Jessica to Death]]'' (1971)
* ''[[Bang the Drum Slowly (film)|Bang the Drum Slowly]]'' (1973)
* ''[[Baby Blue Marine]]'' (1976)
* ''[[California Dreaming (1979 film)|California Dreaming]]'' (1979)
* ''[[Wolfen (film)|Wolfen]]'' (1981) (uncredited){{citation needed|date=November 2015}}
* ''[[Weeds (1987 film)|Weeds]]'' (1987)
* ''[[Steal the Sky]]'' (1988)
* ''[[Prancer (film)|Prancer]]'' (1989)
* ''[[A Piece of Eden]]'' (1999)
* ''[[Suspended Animation (film)|Suspended Animation]]'' (2002)
* ''The Looking Glass'' (2015)
* ''The Girls of Summer'' (2020)


==Awards==
He is also a theater director and writer for screen and stage.
* Brandeis University – Citation in Film – it reads in part: "His flair for warm comedy, gentle satire and strong emotional sensitivity combine to fashion motion pictures that are increasingly hailed by critics and audiences alike."<ref>Bernstein, Marvin H. Citation in Film. President Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts, 1978</ref>
⚫
* Creative Arts Award Commission for "Sticky My Fingers...Fleet My Feet"
* Academy Award Nomination for Best Short Film for "Sticky My Fingers...Fleet My Feet"
⚫
* Outstanding Achievement Critics Choice – "Sticky My Fingers...Fleet My Feet". American Film Institute<ref name="American Film Institute"/>
* The Christopher Award<ref name=filmacres.com />
* First prize at Karlovy Vary<ref name=filmacres.com />

==Personal life==
Hancock's marriage to [[Ann Arensberg]] ended in divorce in 1974. He married actress/screenwriter [[Dorothy Tristan]] in December 1975. Hancock worked closely with Tristan on a number of projects including the aborted first version of ''Jaws 2'' in 1977 (which Tristan co-wrote with Howard Sackler) as well as ''California Dreaming'', ''Weeds'', ''A Piece of Eden'', ''Suspended Animation'' and ''The Looking Glass''. Dorothy Tristan died January 8th 2023.


==References==
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{reflist|2}}


== External links ==
== External links ==
* {{imdb name|id=0359386|name=John D. Hancock}}
* {{IMDb name|0359386}}
* {{tcmdb name|id=516883|name=John D. Hancock}}
* [https://archive.today/20130704045118/http://www.lortel.org/LLA_archive/index.cfm?search_by=people&keyword=name&first=John&last=Hancock&middle= John Hancock] at the Internet Off-Broadway Database


{{John D. Hancock}}
{{John D. Hancock}}

{{Authority control}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Hancock, John D.}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hancock, John D.}}
[[Category:American film directors]]
[[Category:Film directors from Missouri]]
[[Category:Film producers from Missouri]]
[[Category:American male screenwriters]]
[[Category:American theatre directors]]
[[Category:American theatre directors]]
[[Category:Writers from Kansas City, Missouri]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:1939 births]]
[[Category:1939 births]]
[[Category:Harvard University alumni]]

[[Category:Screenwriters from Missouri]]
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Latest revision as of 07:00, 30 October 2024

For other people named John Hancock, see John Hancock (disambiguation).

John D. Hancock
Born (1939-02-12) February 12, 1939 (age 85)
Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.
Alma materHarvard University
Occupation(s)Director, producer, screenwriter

John D. Hancock (born February 12, 1939) is an American stage and film director, producer and writer. He is perhaps best known for his work on Bang the Drum Slowly. Hancock's theatrical work includes direction of both classic and contemporary plays, from Shakespeare to Saul Bellow.[1]

Early life

[edit]

John was born in Kansas City, Missouri, the son of Ralph and Ella Mae Rosenthal Hancock.[2] His father was a musician with the NBC Symphony Orchestra in Chicago, Illinois, and his mother a schoolteacher. Hancock spent his youth between their home in Chicago and their fruit farm in La Porte, Indiana. In high school, he was the Assistant Concertmaster of the Chicago Youth Orchestra playing the violin.[1]

Hancock graduated from Harvard University. He continued his theatrical studies in Europe with a grant from Harvard[3] and observed Bertolt Brecht's Berliner Ensemble.[1]

Career

[edit]

He made his directorial debut at age 22 with the Off-Broadway hit production of Bertolt Brecht's Man Equals Man.[4] This was followed by Robert Lowell's Endicott and the Red Cross. In 1968, Hancock directed Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, which won him the Obie Award for Distinguished Director for the 1967–68 season.[4] Cue Magazine noted, "This brutal, vulgar and erotic production of Shakespeare's sex fantasy is the most original and arresting I've ever witnessed. This is the best of all the Dreams and an important pioneering effort in re-interpreting the play."[5]

Hancock's success on the New York stage led to his appointment as Artistic Director of the famed San Francisco Actor's Workshop in 1965.[6] He later was appointed Artistic Director of the Pittsburgh Playhouse[7] and The New Repertory Theatre in New York City.

Hancock worked closely on several occasions with playwright and author Tennessee Williams, who stated in his book Memoirs that Hancock was "the only director who has ever suggested to me transpositions of material that were artistically effective..."[8]

In 1970, his "Sticky My Fingers...Fleet My Feet" was nominated for a Short-Subject Live-Action Academy Award.[9] Hancock directed the short film with a grant from the American Film Institute. CBS purchased the movie and aired it during halftime of their Thanksgiving football game. It was released nationally with the Woody Allen feature Bananas.

As a feature film director, he is best known for the 1973 film Bang the Drum Slowly, starring Robert De Niro and Michael Moriarty. Hancock's other early film credits were Let's Scare Jessica to Death (1971)[10] and Baby Blue Marine (1976). He worked on Jaws 2 (1978) before being removed from the production.

Hancock served on the board of trustees for the American Film Institute between 1973 and 1977.[11]

A very difficult and controversial period for Hancock involved Jaws 2 which impacted his career as a director. Hancock did not have the experience to deal with the bureaucracy and became a pawn between the powerful political Hollywood studio players.[12] He was the original director of Jaws 2, and his wife Dorothy Tristan did rewrites of the original screenplay by Howard Sackler, who had recommended Hancock for the job.

Hancock ran into trouble with MCA executive Sid Sheinberg. Sheinberg suggested to Hancock and Tristan that his wife Lorraine Gary "should go out on a boat and help to rescue the kids." When told of the idea, producer Richard D. Zanuck replied, "Over my dead body." "Obviously, what I should have done then was to get Zanuck and Sheinberg in the same room and say: 'Okay, you guys should give me direction because I really don't want to get between you two.' I was caught between these huge forces like a babe in the woods and paid the price for it. Jaws 2 is a very bitter, painful experience that took years to recover from."[12] In June 1977, after a meeting with the producers and Universal executives, the director was abruptly fired and production shut down for a few weeks. They had been involved in the film for eighteen months.[13] Jeannot Szwarc was hired to take over as director, and the script was rewritten by Carl Gottlieb.

Hancock followed his difficult experiences on Jaws 2 by directing the comedy/drama California Dreaming (1979), starring Dennis Christopher and Hancock's actress wife, Dorothy Tristan. Ironically, Hancock later replaced Michael Wadleigh as director on the troubled allegorical horror film Wolfen (1981), which was a box office failure but has steadily built a cult reputation over the years. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Hancock directed acclaimed episodes of NBC's Hill Street Blues[1] and CBS's The Twilight Zone (1985 series), the latter including an adaptation of Theodore Sturgeon's science-fantasy story "A Saucer of Loneliness".[1]

He also directed the prison drama Weeds (1987), starring Nick Nolte, and the holiday family film Prancer (1989), about an eight-year-old girl who discovers an injured reindeer she believes belongs to Santa Claus.

In 1998, Hancock opened his production company FilmAcres in LaPorte, Indiana,[14] where he spent some of his childhood. In 1999, he produced and directed A Piece of Eden starring Tyne Daly. It is a semi-autobiographical story about a fruit farm and the relationship between a father and his son. The suspense thriller Suspended Animation was directed by Hancock in 2002.

Hancock wrote and directed the play The Brother in 2007 for a 12-week run at the Theatre Building in Chicago.[15] The spy thriller is based on the book written by Sam Roberts, a noted author and New York Times reporter and editor.[3][15] The play is based mostly on the untold story of David Greenglass who turned in Julius and Ethel Rosenberg for giving atomic bomb secrets to the Russians. "It (The Brother) is incredibly powerful. It is exceptional and really not to be missed."[16]

In 2007, Hancock also directed a 12-week run of the Pulitzer-winner night, Mother starring Elaine Rivkin and Dorothy Tristan at the Theatre Building in Chicago which opened to rave reviews from the Chicago Reader.[17]

In July 2009, Noises Off, under direction by Hancock, received generally positive reviews and sell out houses at the Wellfleet Harbor Arts Theatre Julie Harris Stage in Cape Cod, Massachusetts.[18] "...Hancock displays his ability to make a play flow smoothly. A fast-paced romp from beginning to end. A backstage pass to hilarity."[19] "Director John Hancock is working here almost more as traffic cop or circus ringmaster or knife juggler as he skillfully keeps his nine actors racing through meticulous comedic choreography."[20]

Filmography

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Awards

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  • Brandeis University – Citation in Film – it reads in part: "His flair for warm comedy, gentle satire and strong emotional sensitivity combine to fashion motion pictures that are increasingly hailed by critics and audiences alike."[21]
  • Creative Arts Award Commission for "Sticky My Fingers...Fleet My Feet"
  • Academy Award Nomination for Best Short Film for "Sticky My Fingers...Fleet My Feet"
  • Outstanding Achievement Critics Choice – "Sticky My Fingers...Fleet My Feet". American Film Institute[11]
  • The Christopher Award[1]
  • First prize at Karlovy Vary[1]

Personal life

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Hancock's marriage to Ann Arensberg ended in divorce in 1974. He married actress/screenwriter Dorothy Tristan in December 1975. Hancock worked closely with Tristan on a number of projects including the aborted first version of Jaws 2 in 1977 (which Tristan co-wrote with Howard Sackler) as well as California Dreaming, Weeds, A Piece of Eden, Suspended Animation and The Looking Glass. Dorothy Tristan died January 8th 2023.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g John D. Hancock at Filmacres.com
  2. ^ Christopher Sheid : Hancock sees both sides of human nature, NWI Times, April 23, 2000.
  3. ^ a b "Acclaimed filmmaker John Hancock returns to the theatre with production of a spy thriller drama". ReelChicago.com. August 10, 2007. Retrieved April 11, 2013.
  4. ^ a b John Hancock Archived July 4, 2013, at archive.today at the Internet Off-Broadway Database, Lortel Archives, Lucille Lortel Foundation
  5. ^ Cue Magazine, 1967.
  6. ^ Stone, Judith. "Making A Small Miracle", The New York Times, January 2, 1966.
  7. ^ Novick, Julius (1968). Beyond Broadway The Quest for Permanent Theatres New York: Hill and Wang, SBN 8090-0547-6, p31-35
  8. ^ Williams, Tennessee (1975, 2006). Memoirs, With An Introduction By John Waters, New York: A New Directions Book, ISBN 978-0-8112-1669-2, p.201.
  9. ^ "Browser Unsupported - Academy Awards Search | Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences".
  10. ^ Greenspun, Roger (August 28, 1971). "Let's Scare Jessica to Death". The New York Times. Retrieved May 5, 2011.
  11. ^ a b American Film Institute
  12. ^ a b Jankiewicy, Patrick. (2009) Just When You Thought It Was Safe: A JAWS Companion, BearManor Media, Albany, Georgia, p.190, ISBN 1593933347
  13. ^ Loynd, Ray (1978). The Jaws 2 Log. London: W.H. Allen. p. 70. ISBN 0-426-18868-3.
  14. ^ "FilmAcres". Archived from the original on April 7, 2002. Retrieved April 11, 2013.
  15. ^ a b Metz, Nina (September 7, 2007). "'Brother' turns tables on Rosenberg story". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved April 11, 2013.
  16. ^ Kleinman, Kelly. "Dueling Critics, Pick of the Week", Eight Forty-Eight, Chicago Public Radio WBEZ, September 9, 2007.
  17. ^ Williams, Albert (September 20, 2007). "'night, Mother". Chicago Reader. Retrieved April 11, 2013.
  18. ^ Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater (WHAT), August 2009
  19. ^ Watters, John (July 10, 2009). "WHAT's Noises Off puts laughter center stage". Barnstable Patriot. Retrieved April 11, 2013.
  20. ^ Driscoll, Kathi Scrizzi (July 2, 2009). "WHAT's 'Noises Off' whips right along". Cape Cod Times. Archived from the original on October 29, 2013. Retrieved April 11, 2013.
  21. ^ Bernstein, Marvin H. Citation in Film. President Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts, 1978
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