Henry David Jaglom, the independent filmmaker known for introspective, improvisational and talky dramas, has died, according to multiple media reports. He was 87.
Jaglom died Monday night at his home in Santa Monica, representatives for his daughter, filmmaker Sabrina Jaglom, confirmed to TheWrap.
Jaglom’s talky dramas often focused on personal relationships and emotional conflict, relying on naturalistic dialogue and loosely structured narratives.
His directorial debut, “A Safe Place” (1971), featured Tuesday Weld and Orson Welles. Over the years, Jaglom helmed more than a dozen features including “Can She Bake a Cherry Pie?” (1983), Last Summer in the Hamptons (1995) and Irene in Time (2009). His 1987 film Someone to Love marked the final on-screen performance by Orson Welles.
Jaglom’s more than 20 films – all of which he wrote or co-wrote – were made outside the major studio system, their budgets and their conventions. His actors were encouraged to improvise and develop their characters, not just between takes, but during them.
Jaglom was born in London to a Jewish family that immigrated to the United States. He trained at the Actors Studio in New York and worked in off-Broadway theater before relocating to Los Angeles, where he directed, wrote and produced films over five decades.
He also wrote plays and published “My Lunches with Orson,” a memoir based on his conversations with Welles.
His first wife was actress Patrice Townsend, but after their divorce they went on to co-star in the 1985 comedy “Always,” as a middle-aged couple deciding whether to split. His second wife, the actress Victoria Foyt, starred in the 1994 comedy “Babyfever,” about women exploring themes of motherhood and with a mostly female cast.
He is survived by his daughter, the filmmaker Sabrina Jaglom.
