Pare Lorentz

Pare Lorentz
Pare Lorentz, 1935—1942
Born
Leonard MacTaggart Lorentz

(1905-12-11)December 11, 1905
Clarksburg, West Virginia, United States
DiedMarch 4, 1992(1992-03-04) (aged 86)
Armonk, New York
Alma mater
Occupation(s)Filmmaker and critic
EmployerResettlement Administration
Organization(s)WWII U.S. Army Air Corps, Colonel
Known for
MovementNew Deal
Spouses
  • Sally Bates
    (m. 1931; divorced before 1943)
  • Elizabeth Meyer
    (m. 1943; Lorentz's death 1992)
Children
  • Pare Lorentz, Jr.
  • Matilda Lorentz Grey
  • (both with Sally Bates)
Parents
  • Pare Hanson Lorentz
  • Alma MacTaggart Ruttencutter
Awards

Pare Lorentz (December 11, 1905 – March 4, 1992) was an American filmmaker known for his film work about the New Deal. Born Leonard MacTaggart Lorentz in Clarksburg, West Virginia he was educated at Buckhannon High School, West Virginia Wesleyan College, and West Virginia University. As a young film critic in both New York City and Hollywood, Lorentz spoke out against censorship in the film industry.

As the most influential documentary filmmaker of the Great Depression, Lorentz was the leading American advocate for government-sponsored documentary films. His service as a filmmaker for the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II was formidable, including technical films, documentation of bombing raids, and synthesizing raw footage of Nazi atrocities for an educational film on the Nuremberg Trials. Nonetheless, Lorentz perennially will be known best as "FDR′s filmmaker."