Franklin James Schaffner was an Academy Award-winning American film director best known for his picture ‘Patton.’ Schaffner’s career in show business began after World War II, and he has won four Emmys and one Academy Award. Schaffner got work as an assistant director after being discharged from his duties as a lieutenant during World War II. He quickly rose through the ranks of the CBS television network, making a substantial contribution to what is now known as “the golden age of television.” He made his television debut in 1949 with the sitcom ‘Wesley.’ Following that, he went on to direct over 150 live dramas and 100 shows. ‘Twelve Angry Men,’ ‘The Caine Mutiny Court Martial,’ and ‘The Defenders,’ all of which garnered him an Emmy prize, were among his best works in the mid-1950s. In 1963, he made his film debut with the picture ‘The Strippers.’ Schaffner’s science fiction film ‘Planet of the Apes’ was a box office success in 1968. The film received a lot of positive feedback. Following that achievement, he directed the Academy Award-winning film ‘Patton.’ Schaffner’s genius was his ingenuity. His films were aesthetically stunning and engrossing. He approached the subject with zeal and brought to the screen a powerful film that was both imaginative and uplifting.
Childhood and Adolescence
Sarah Horting and Paul Franklin Schaffner, American missionaries, gave birth to Franklin J. Schaffner on May 30, 1920 in Tokyo, Japan. He was raised in Japan until he was five years old. He and his family relocated to the United States when he was five years old. He attended Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in government and English in 1942. He was involved in drama during his academic years.
He was accepted to Columbia University to study law after completing his early education. During World War II, he served as a lieutenant in the United States Navy Amphibious Forces in North Africa and Europe, as well as with the Office for Strategic Services in India, Burma, and China, interrupting his studies.
Career of Franklin
Following his service in WWII, he worked for a world peace organization, which led to him being hired as an assistant director for the documentary film ‘March of Time.’ Schaffner found work as a director in the CBS television network’s news and public affairs department. In 1948, he was most known for directing television coverage of the Brooklyn Dodgers. He also directed a number of public service and amusement programs, including as hockey, basketball, horse racing, and beauty pageants.
Schaffner made his directing debut in 1949 with the television show “Wesley.” He took on more directing jobs as a result of the success of ‘Wesley.’ He directed more than 150 live dramas for major anthology shows such as The Ford Theatre Hour, Playhouse 90, and Studio One in Hollywood throughout the 1950s decade. Schaffner’s first Emmy was for the show “Twelve Angry Men” in 1954. In 1955, he won two more Emmys for directing and co-writing ‘The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial,’ a television adaptation of the Broadway play. He was nominated for another Emmy in 1961 for directing the weekly series ‘The Defenders.’
Schaffner directed Allen Drury’s Broadway drama ‘Advice and Consent’ in 1960. In 1962, he won a Peabody Award for his directorial TV documentary ‘A Tour of the White House,’ which featured Jacqueline Kennedy as the host.
Schaffner moved into the film industry after achieving success on television. In 1963, he made his big screen directing debut with the feature picture ‘The Stripper.’ Joanne Woodward starred as a poor actress who accepts a job as a striptease artist in this film based on William Inge’s play ‘A Loss of Roses.’ Richard Beymer portrayed a wide-eyed adolescent who is smitten with her. The movie was a hit.
Schaffner went on to direct many additional films after the success of ‘The Stripper,’ including the dramedy ‘The Best Man,’ starring Henry Fonda and Cliff Robertson in 1964, and the medieval drama ‘The War Lord,’ starring Charlton Heston and Richard Boone. The year 1968 marks the start of Schaffner’s career’s golden age. Despite his prowess as a director, a great commercial smash eluded him until the release of ‘Planet of the Apes.’ Charlton Heston played an astronaut who lands on a world controlled by educated and cultured apes in this classic film. The film’s enormous popularity prompted it to be followed by sequels.
He followed up the triumph of ‘Planet of the Apes’ with ‘Patton,’ which was similarly successful and praiseworthy. The film was based on the life of General George S. Patton and was a biopic. It was a huge hit, garnering Schaffner an Academy Award for Best Direction. He wrote the historical drama ‘Nicholas and Alexandra’ in 1971. The film focused on the end of the Romanov Dynasty in Russia, and it was epic in scale. It was well-received by the public and was nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Picture category.
In 1973, he produced the film ‘Papillon.’ The story revolved around a French prisoner who managed to flee Devils Island. It was based on Henri Charriere’s autobiography. Steve McQueen played the protagonist in the film, while Dustin Hoffman had a supporting part. ‘Islands in the Stream,’ Schaffner’s not-so-well-received picture, was released in 1977. He made up for it by writing the thriller ‘The Boys from Brazil,’ based on Ira Levin’s best-selling novel. Laurence Olivier, who played the major role, was nominated for an Academy Award.
His films were significant flops during the end of the 1970s and the beginning of the 1980s. ‘Yes, Giorgio,’ ‘Lionheart,’ and his final feature picture, ‘Welcome Home,’ were all critically and commercially derided and turned into box office disasters. He was a member of the Directors Guild of America, the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, Phi Beta Kappa, the Music Center’s Center Theater Group, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, the National Council of the Arts, the Presidential Task Force on the Arts and Humanities, and the American Film Institute, among other organizations. From 1987 to 1989, he was President of the Directors Guild of America for two years.
Major Projects of Franklin
The most praiseworthy work of Schaffner’s career occurred in the late 1960s and early 1970s. With the 1968 directorial feature ‘Planet of the Apes,’ he launched a streak of profitable films. The film was a huge box office hit and was hailed as one of the best science fiction pictures of the year. He followed up his breakthrough with the film ‘Patton,’ a biography of General George S Patton, which was also a hit. Schaffner won his first and only Academy Award for Best Director for ‘Patton.’ ‘Nicholas and Alexandra’ and ‘Papillon’ are two of his other well-known masterpieces.
Achievements & Awards
He earned an Emmy for directing the television series “Twelve Angry Men” in 1954. He won two more Emmys the following year for the Broadway rendition of ‘The Caine Mutiny Court Martial.’ For ‘The Defenders,’ he won his fourth Emmy. Schaffner received the Academy Award for Best Director for his biopic ‘Patton’ in 1970. He also won the Directors Guild of America Award for Best Director for the picture.
Estimated Net Worth
Franklin is one of the wealthiest and most well-known directors. Franklin J. Schaffner’s net worth is estimated to be at $17 million, according to Wikipedia, Forbes, and Business Insider.