Albert Maysles, <em>Grey Gardens</em> Documentarian, Dies At 88

Jen Carlson

Published Mar 6, 2015

Modified Mar 6, 2015

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Jen Carlson

Published Mar 6, 2015

Modified Mar 6, 2015

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Albert Maysles in 2009. (Getty)

Emmy Award-winning documentarian Albert Maysles died last night at the age of 88 at his home in Manhattan. Maysles is probably best known for Grey Gardens and Gimme Shelter, both of which he worked on with his brother David, who died in 1987.

The brothers won two Emmys, but neither for the aforementioned documentaries—in the 1980s they won for Vladimir Horowitz: The Last Romantic and in 1991 for Soldiers of Music. You may also be familiar with one of their six films on installation artist Christo (count 'em), including 2005's The Gates and Christo's Valley Curtain, which was nominated for an Oscar in 1974.

In their obituary for Albert Maysles today, the NY Times recalls their 1994 interview with him, where he told the paper, “Making a film isn’t finding the answer to a question; it’s trying to capture life as it is." Here he is talking shop a few years ago:

In February, it was announced that Grey Gardens would be coming back to the big screen following a makeover, and today is the first day of its six-day run at the Film Forum.

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