William Kronick

William Kronick (born 1934) is an American film and television writer, director and producer. He worked in the film industry from 1960 to 2000, when he segued into writing novels.

William Kronick
Kronick on location with Richard Burton during the filming of To the Ends of the Earth.
Born	Amsterdam, New York, USA
Occupation	Film writer, director, producer, novelist

Biography

Born to European emigrants, William Kronick [1][2] grew up in Amsterdam, New York. He attended Columbia College where he was active in the Columbia Players’ stage productions. He also helped form The Gilbert and Sullivan Society at Barnard College.

After graduation Kronick was drafted into the U.S. Navy where he became a Photographer's Mate. During a North Atlantic exercise in Stockholm, Sweden Kronick met film and theater director Alf Sjoberg[3] who arranged for Kronick, once out of the Navy, to apprentice with Ingmar Bergman on his next film The Magician.[4]

Returning to New York Kronick found a job as Production Assistant with Louis de Rochemont Associates.[5]  So began his professional career in motion pictures.

Kronick's first film was a twenty-four-minute comedy, A Bowl of Cherries.[6]  The film, which played in a thousand art theaters in the U.S. and Europe, was seen by TV documentary producer, David L. Wolper.[7]  He offered Kronick the producing/directing/writing position on a new reality series, Story of….

During his long career, Kronick would make some of the highest-rated Network Specials,[8] including Alaska! (National Geographic), Plimpton! and Mysteries of the Great Pyramid.[9][10] He directed The Five-Hundred Pound Jerk, a popular Movie-of-the-Week.

His first feature, independently financed, was A Likely Story[11] (a.k.a. Horowitz in Dublin) filmed entirely in Ireland.  It featured Harvey Lembeck, Al Lettieri and Sinéad Cusack. Kronick also did long-term stints as Second Unit Director on features such as King Kong[12] (1976) and Flash Gordon[13] (1980), on which he was responsible for many action and special effects sequences.

Another major film project was the feature-length documentary To The Ends Of The Earth,[14] which recorded the unique three-year expedition of three Englishmen who set out to circumnavigate the globe, crossing both the South and North Poles without leaving the surface of the earth. Known as the Transglobe Expedition, Prince Charles was its patron with Richard Burton narrating and hosting the film. Kronick received a Special Certificate of Merit from the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences for this film.

He continued to produce, write and direct Network and Cable specials until 2000, when he turned to writing novels. To date he has completed six contemporary morality tales dealing mainly with film and theater.[15]  

He has been married and divorced twice and has a son, Max. Kronick resides in Los Angeles.

Career

Filmography

Directing Credits

Year	Show [16][17][18]
1999	The Man Who Makes Things Happen: David L. Wolper
1991	The Journey Back: Professionals Recover From Addiction
1988	The World's Greatest Stunts: A Tribute to Hollywood Stuntmen
1987	The Ultimate Stuntman: A Tribute to Dar Robinson
1983	To the Ends of the Earth
1983	Ripley's Believe It Or Not!
1980	Flash Gordon (Second Unit Director)
1977	Mysteries of the Great Pyramid
1976	King Kong (Second Unit Director)
1973	A Likely Story (a.k.a. Horowitz in Dublin)
1973	The 500 Pound Jerk
1970-72	Plimpton! Specials
1970	Flap (Second Unit Director)
1969	The Bridge at Remagen (Second Unit Director)
1967	National Geographic Special: Alaska!
1965	Time-Life Special: The Class of '49
1965	Race for the Moon
1964	Krebiozen and Cancer: Thirteen Years of Bitter Conflict
1964	Hollywood and the Stars: On Location: Night of the Iguana
1962-63	Story Of...
1961	A Bowl of Cherries

Writing Credits

Year	Show [16][17][18]
1999	Celebrate the Century
1999	The Man Who Makes Things Happen: David L. Wolper
1991	The Journey Back: Professionals Recover From Addiction
1988	The World's Greatest Stunts: A Tribute to Hollywood Stuntmen
1987	Nights in White Satin
1987	The Ultimate Stuntman: A Tribute to Dar Robinson
1981	Great Movie Stunts: Raiders of the Lost Ark
1977	Mysteries of the Great Pyramid
1973	A Likely Story (a.k.a. Horowitz in Dublin)
1970-72	Plimpton! Specials
1967	National Geographic Special: Alaska!
1965	Time-Life Special: The Class of '49
1965	Race for the Moon
1964	Krebiozen and Cancer: Thirteen Years of Bitter Conflict
1964	Hollywood and the Stars: On Location: Night of the Iguana
1962-63	Story Of...
1961	A Bowl of Cherries

Producing Credits

Year	Show [16][17][18]
1997-2000	Undercover History
1999	The Man Who Makes Things Happen: David L. Wolper
1995-98	Mysteries of the Bible
1988	The World's Greatest Stunts: A Tribute to Hollywood Stuntmen
1987	Biography
1987	Playboy: Bedtime Stories
1987	The Ultimate Stuntman: A Tribute to Dar Robinson
1981	Small World
1978-79	In Search of...
1977	Mysteries of the Great Pyramid
1970-72	Plimpton! Specials
1967	National Geographic Special: Alaska!
1965	Time-Life Special: The Class of '49
1965	Race for the Moon
1964	Krebiozen and Cancer: Thirteen Years of Bitter Conflict
1964	Hollywood and the Stars: On Location: Night of the Iguana
1962-63	Story Of...

Novels

What Katie Said
Kronick's latest novel
Art by Cathie Sacho

The Art of Self-Deception
Art by Cathie Sacho

Year	Title [15]
2015	What Katie Said
2011	The Art of Self-Deception
2008	All Stars Die
2006	N.Y./L.A.
2005	Cooley Wyatt
2004	The Cry of Sirens

References

1. "Producer is Vital Part of Plimpton Specials". The Titusville Herald. Dickinson Newspaper Services, Inc. 22 May 1971. p. 1. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
2. "Producer is Vital Part of Plimpton Specials". The Titusville Herald. Dickinson Newspaper Services, Inc. 22 May 1971. p. 2. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
3. "Alf Sjöberg". Ingmar Bergman Face to Face. Stiftelsen Ingmar Bergman. Retrieved 23 January 2012.
4. "The Magician". Ingmar Bergman Face to Face. Stiftelsen Ingmar Bergman. Retrieved 23 January 2012.
5. JDR. "The Complete Films of Louis de Rochemont". Retrieved 24 January 2012.
6. "The Easy Way - Movies". The Milwaukee Sentinel. The Milwaukee Sentinel. 15 April 1961. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
7. "David L. Wolper Biography". Official Website of Producer David L. Wolper. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
8. "Credit List for William Kronick". Official Website of Producer David L. Wolper. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
9. (1 April 1977). A 'documentary' is seldom objective, Corpus Christi Caller Times (noting that Kronick "specializes" in the "one-subject show" as "documentary" format and noting that Mysteries of the Great Pyramid was debuting on April 20, 1977)
10. (28 April 1977). ABC-TV maintains No 1. ratings, Lethbridge Herald (Listing Mysteries of the Great Pyramid as the 12th most watched prime time television program of the prior week)
11. "Dublin Murders Release". Movie-Release.net. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
12. Ray Morton. King Kong: the history of a movie icon from Fay Wray to Peter Jackson. Hal Leonard Corporation. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
13. "Flash Gordon (1980)". The New York TImes - Movies. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
14. "TRANSGLOBE EXPEDITION 1979 - 1982". Tranglobe - News. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
15. "William Kronick". Author House. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
16. Directors Guild of America Directory of Members. Directors Guild of America. 2011. p. 346.
17. Writers Guild of America Membership Directory. Writers Guild of America. 1989–1990. p. 224.
18. "William Kronick". IMDB. Retrieved 24 January 2012.

External links

• William Kronick at IMDb