John Korty has worked in nearly every facet of film and television including animation, documentary, independent and mainstream studio features and movies for television and miniseries. Early in his career, Korty received an Academy Award nomination for his 1964 documentary short Breaking the Habit. He went on to write, direct, shoot and edit the critically acclaimed low budget independent features Crazy Quilt (1966) and Funnyman (1967), followed in the 1970s by studio features like Riverrun; Silence; Alex and the Gypsy; Oliver’s Story; and the cult animation classic, Twice Upon a Time.
He won an Oscar, an Emmy, a DGA Award and the Humanitas Prize for his feature length documentary Who Are the DeBolts? And Where Did They Get 19 Kids? Korty also directed many highly acclaimed films for television including Go Ask Alice, The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman which garnered him the 1974 Best Director Emmy and a DGA Award, Farewell to Manzanar for which he received the Humanitas Prize, and the Emmy-nominated The Ewok Adventure.
John Korty has been active in the DGA’s San Francisco Coordinating Committee.
Korty passed away in April 2022.