Henry Jaglom, a unique independent filmmaker who boldly disregarded typical box-office pressures to craft intimate, distinctive films exploring relationships and the complex inner lives of women, passed away on Monday at his Santa Monica, California, residence at the age of 87.
His daughter, Sabrina Jaglom, confirmed his passing.
Jaglom directed over 20 films independently, challenging traditional Hollywood norms. He penned or co-penned all his screenplays but famously encouraged an improvisational style, allowing actors to evolve their characters and dialogue freely during filming.
This distinctive method led to verbose, uninhibited films such as his 1983 romantic comedy, ‘Can She Bake a Cherry Pie?’ starring Karen Black. A New York Times review by Janet Maslin acknowledged the film’s tendency to ‘chatter away its welcome,’ yet praised its ‘loose, funny abandon’ and undeniable spontaneity in dialogue.
A still from Henry Jaglom’s 1983 comedy ‘Can She Bake a Cherry Pie?’ features Michael Emil and Karen Black. Critics lauded the film for its uninhibited and humorous dialogue. Notably, Michael Emil was Jaglom’s older brother. Credit: Frank Moreno Company, via Everett Collection
Jaglom was known for his shoestring budgets, frequently utilizing free locations like his parents’ East Hampton, N.Y., home for his 1995 family drama, ‘Last Summer in the Hamptons.’ He further economized by casting friends, his wife, and even his ex-wife in his productions.
Henry Jaglom’s commitment to low-budget filmmaking meant frequently casting friends and family and filming in readily available locations. His 1995 family drama, ‘Last Summer in the Hamptons,’ for example, was shot at his parents’ residence. Credit: The Rainbow Film Company, via Mary Evans/Ronald Grant — Everett Collection
His creative wellspring often came directly from his own life experiences, no matter how personal or raw they might be.
Following his divorce from actress Patrice Townsend, the two bravely revisited their past by co-starring in his 1985 comedy ‘Always.’ The film portrayed a middle-aged couple at a Fourth of July party, reflecting on their decision to separate within the familiar setting of their former shared home in Hollywood.
‘Always,’ released in 1985, starred Henry Jaglom and his former wife, Patrice Townsend, as a couple on the cusp of divorce. Jaglom often looked no further for source material than his own personal experiences, however raw. Credit: The Samuel Goldwyn Company, via Everett Collection
Conversations with his second wife, actress Victoria Foyt, about starting a family inspired his 1994 comedy ‘Babyfever.’ This film, with its predominantly female cast, explored various facets of motherhood and the pressures of biological clocks.
It was part of an unofficial trilogy dedicated to women’s concerns, also encompassing ‘Eating’ (1990), which depicted women at a birthday party revealing their food-related anxieties, and ‘Going Shopping’ (2005), a witty examination of how some women view retail therapy.
Victoria Foyt (left) and Frances Fisher in Henry Jaglom’s 1994 film ‘Babyfever.’ This movie was a key part of his informal trilogy exploring women’s anxieties and aspirations. Credit: Rainbow Releasing, via Everett Collection
Jaglom was particularly drawn to creating films centered on women’s issues, a subject he felt was frequently ignored by mainstream cinema. He once remarked in an interview with novelist Mary Tabor that ‘Hollywood remains a male-dominated industry, primarily targeting teenage boys in the Midwest interested in space aliens or vampires.’
He clarified his cinematic goal: to reach ’10 or 15 percent, hopefully, of the audience that wants to see grown-up films about human relationships.’
A scene from ‘Eating’ (1990), featuring Frances Bergen, Mary Crosby, and Marlena Giovi, where women candidly discuss their food-related anxieties. Credit: International Rainbow, via Everett Collection
Henry Jaglom on set with Victoria Foyt and Mae Whitman for ‘Going Shopping’ (2005), a film exploring consumerism as therapy. Credit: Rainbow Releasing, via Everett Collection
Jaglom readily admitted his films often provoked strong, polarized reactions. Critics frequently characterized his work as meandering and introspective, with The Guardian in 1991 citing descriptions such as ‘cinema as personal therapy,’ ‘psychobabble,’ and ‘diaries as art.’
With a touch of self-awareness, Jaglom once quipped to The Guardian, ‘It’s fortunate I’m so arrogant. I don’t mind bad reviews. I used to send the worst ones to people as Christmas presents.’
Despite reservations, even critical reviewers often applauded his boldness. Janet Maslin, in her New York Times review of ‘Eating,’ noted that the film’s characters ‘would quickly become insufferable’ if viewed dispassionately. However, she concluded that Jaglom’s ‘extremely fond’ perspective on his diverse cast of narcissists imbued ‘Eating’ with its distinctive warmth and humor.
He wasn’t without his fervent supporters. Renowned critic Roger Ebert, for instance, praised Jaglom’s 1997 romance, ‘Déjà Vu,’ featuring Victoria Foyt, Stephen Dillane, and Vanessa Redgrave. The film skillfully wove elements of magic realism into a narrative about midlife love, a story directly influenced by Jaglom’s own evolving relationship with Foyt.
Vanessa Redgrave and Henry Jaglom on the set of his 1997 film, ‘Déjà Vu.’ Critic Roger Ebert lauded the movie as ‘not a weepy romantic melodrama, but a sophisticated film about smart people.’ Credit: Rainbow Releasing, via Everett Collection
Ebert described ‘Déjà Vu’ as ‘not a weepy romantic melodrama, but a sophisticated film about smart people.’ He highlighted that the protagonists became convincing lovers not through being swept away by emotion, but by thoughtfully acknowledging and accepting their shared experience.
Jaglom’s career in Hollywood began in the 1960s, a transformative era where television’s emergence dismantled the rigid studio system, paving the way for unconventional, new talents like him.
Early in his career, Henry Jaglom (left) appeared in films such as Richard Rush’s ‘Psych-Out’ (1968), alongside Jack Nicholson (center) and Adam Rourke. Credit: American International Pictures, via Everett Collection
His early acting roles included hippie-era films such as Richard Rush’s ‘Psych-Out’ (1968), an exploration of San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury counterculture starring Jack Nicholson and Susan Strasberg. The following year, Jaglom contributed to editing Dennis Hopper’s iconic counterculture film, ‘Easy Rider.’
In 1971, he made his directorial debut with ‘A Safe Place,’ a film starring Tuesday Weld as a young woman navigating New York City life while immersed in a fantastical, childlike world. The movie also featured Jack Nicholson and a notable late-career performance by Orson Welles.
Henry Jaglom (right) directed his first feature, the 1971 drama ‘A Safe Place,’ which starred Tuesday Weld and Jack Nicholson. Phil Proctor, another cast member, is visible on the left. Credit: Columbia Pictures, via Everett Collection
Demonstrating his experimental nature, the film employed an avant-garde narrative where past, present, and future appeared to blend seamlessly. In his review for The New York Times, Vincent Canby remarked that Jaglom seemed like ‘a young director attempting to walk without ever having learned to crawl,’ yet conceded there were signs he ‘might crawl with a good deal of style.’
His ambition extended to challenging subject matter. Jaglom was among the first directors to tackle the psychological toll of the Vietnam War in his 1976 film ‘Tracks,’ starring Dennis Hopper as a paranoid veteran transporting a fallen comrade’s coffin by train to California. The film’s unsettling themes caused its release to be postponed for years.
Henry Jaglom was a pioneering director in addressing the deep psychological impact of the Vietnam War, as seen in his 1976 film ‘Tracks,’ starring Dennis Hopper. Credit: via Everett Collection
His film ‘Someone to Love,’ a contemplative piece on loneliness and divorce, featured one of the final screen appearances of Orson Welles. Welles, a close friend and mentor, dined weekly with Jaglom before his passing in 1985, two years before the film’s release. These intimate conversations were later compiled into the book ‘My Lunches With Orson’ (2013) by film historian Peter Biskind.
Jaglom recalled a crucial lesson from Welles in a 1994 Washington Post interview: ‘Orson once told me, ‘The enemy of art is the absence of limitations.’ That was the most important lesson I ever had about making movies. And it’s why I like to make movies on small budgets.’
Henry Jaglom (center) starred alongside Andrea Marcovicci in his 1987 film ‘Someone to Love.’ Orson Welles (left) also featured in the movie, released posthumously two years after his death. Credit: Castle Hill, via Everett Collection
Henry David Jaglom was born in London on January 26, 1938. He was the younger son of Simon M. Jaglom, a financier and real estate developer, and Marie (Stadthagen) Jaglom, a philanthropist and socialite. His elder brother, Michael Emil Jaglom, later appeared in several of Henry’s films as Michael Emil.
His father, a Ukrainian Jew, initially fled to Germany after the Bolshevik Revolution, where he married the German-Jewish Ms. Stadthagen. The couple then moved to England in the late 1930s to escape Nazi persecution, eventually settling in Manhattan when Henry was an infant.
After graduating from Columbia Grammar & Preparatory School, Henry attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he was an active member of the esteemed Pennsylvania Players theater group. He earned a bachelor’s degree in English in 1963, then honed his craft under Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio workshop in New York.
Henry Jaglom in 2005. He famously stated, ‘There are always people who think you’re not supposed to show the pain, just the solution. But I think you’re supposed to show the truth. I don’t have any solutions.’ Credit: Randall Michelson/Rainbow Film Company
In 1966, he moved to Hollywood, securing roles in sitcoms like ‘Gidget’ and ‘The Flying Nun.’ A year later, his eight-millimeter documentary about the Six-Day War, filmed in Israel, captured the attention of Bert Schneider, the producer of ‘Easy Rider.’
Jaglom is survived by his daughter, Sabrina, and son, Simon Orson, both from his marriage to Victoria Foyt, which concluded in divorce in 2013.
Embracing his often-criticized persona, Jaglom indulged in self-parody with his 1992 film ‘Venice/Venice,’ portraying a self-absorbed, maverick director at the Venice Film Festival. Janet Maslin of The New York Times remarked that Jaglom ‘knows exactly what his critics think of him,’ and used ‘Venice/Venice’ to preempt their critiques.
Henry Jaglom and Nelly Alard in ‘Venice/Venice’ (1992). In this film, Jaglom playfully engaged in self-parody, depicting a self-absorbed film director attending the Venice Film Festival. Credit: Rainbow Releasing, via Getty Images
His unique eccentricities were further explored in the unsparing 1995 documentary ‘Who Is Henry Jaglom?,’ directed by Henry Alex Rubin and Jeremy Workman.
Regardless of critical or public reception, Jaglom consistently adhered to his artistic vision. In a 1994 interview with The Chicago Tribune, he articulated his philosophy: ‘There are always people who think you’re not supposed to show the pain, just the solution. But I think you’re supposed to show the truth. I don’t have any solutions.’