- Born
- Died
- Birth nameAlbert Harry Maysles
- Nickname
- The Dean of Documentaries
- Height5′ 8″ (1.73 m)
- Albert Maysles was born on November 26, 1926 in Dorchester, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. He was a cinematographer and director, known for Grey Gardens (1975), Salesman (1969) and Gimme Shelter (1970). He was married to Gillian Walker. He died on March 5, 2015 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA.
- SpouseGillian Walker(September 14, 1976 - March 5, 2015) (his death, 3 children)
- His first film was a 16-mm documentary made in 1955 while visiting mental hospitals in the Soviet Union.
- Brother and collaborator of David Maysles
- He started out as an assistant to Robert Drew, a pioneer of cinema verite.
- Semi-underground documentary film maker, usually in conjunction with his brother David. Held a degree in psychology from Boston University and taught the subject there for three years.
- Served in the U.S. Army Tank Corps during WWII.
- We get crushes and we get crushed from almost all the subjects that we film.
- The film is sort of the the beginning of a love affair between the filmmakers and the subjects. Some filmmakers make targets of the subjects they film; that's not our way.
- There are daily acts of generosity and kindness and love that should be represented on film.
- The natural disposition of the camera is to seek out reality.
- I think my training taught me above all to be unprejudiced. Psychology was social science and so in a way my work has always combined a kind of scientific approach with art.
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