One of the most famous and influential pioneers of the cinéma vérité style, DA Pennebaker—the documentarian who in his career captured everything from Bob Dylan’s 1965 tour of England to Bill Clinton’s first presidential campaign—has died at the age of 94. His son Frazer Pennebaker confirmed the news to The New York Times on Sunday.
Pennebaker’s career took off both with the proliferation of synchronous-sound cameras—allowing filmmakers to capture subjects in their element with minimal voiceover—and their use in 1967 documentary Don’t Look Back. The film followed singer-songwriter Bob Dylan’s 1965 tour through England, his contentious relationship with the press, and more intimate moments among friends and supporters. The film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress in 1998.
Born Donn Alan Pennebaker in 1925 in Evanston, Illinois, “Penny” served in the Navy and studied engineering at both MIT and Yale. Pennebaker soon discovered a love of filmmaking, and worked creating films for Time-Life before striking out on his own. His engineering know-how would come back in 1968, helping to construct a portable 16mm camera capable of blending sound and footage for documentary Monterey Pop, which featured iconic footage from Jimi Hendrix’s and Janis Joplin’s most well-known performances.
—BBC
