Henry Jaglom, the fiercely independent filmmaker renowned for crafting uniquely personal movies about human relationships, especially those exploring the nuanced inner worlds and challenges of women, passed away on Monday at his Santa Monica, California residence at the age of 87.
His daughter, Sabrina Jaglom, confirmed his passing.
Throughout his career, Jaglom directed over 20 feature films, consistently operating outside the rigid confines of major studios. He not only wrote or co-wrote all his screenplays but also championed an improvisational technique, empowering his actors to evolve their characters and craft dialogue organically during filming.
This distinctive method led to a filmography filled with dialogue-rich, freewheeling narratives, such as his 1983 romantic comedy, ‘Can She Bake a Cherry Pie?,’ featuring Karen Black. While Janet Maslin of The New York Times acknowledged the film sometimes risked ‘chattering away its welcome,’ she also praised the ‘loose, funny abandon’ and abundant spontaneity. A notable scene from this film shows Michael Emil (Jaglom’s older brother) alongside Karen Black.
Jaglom was a master of making films on a shoestring budget. He famously utilized free locations, like his parents’ gray-shingled house in East Hampton, New York, where he filmed his 1995 family drama, ‘Last Summer in the Hamptons.’ He also kept costs down by frequently casting friends, his wife, and even his ex-wife in his projects.
His most compelling source material often came directly from his own life, no matter how intensely personal or raw the experiences were.
This deeply personal approach was evident in ‘Always,’ his 1985 comedy. After his divorce from actress Patrice Townsend, they bravely co-starred in the film, revisiting their past as a middle-aged couple at a Fourth of July party in their former Hollywood home, wrestling with the implications of their divorce. The film featured Jaglom himself and his former wife, Patrice Townsend, on the cusp of divorce.
Later, his discussions with second wife, actress Victoria Foyt, about starting a family inspired ‘Babyfever,’ a 1994 comedy. This film, predominantly featuring a female ensemble, explored women’s varied perspectives on motherhood and the pressures of biological clocks.
‘Babyfever’ was one part of an informal trilogy dedicated to women’s anxieties and desires. The other films included ‘Eating’ (1990), which gathered women at a birthday party to reveal their food-related neuroses, and ‘Going Shopping’ (2005), a sharp, humorous take on how some women turn to retail therapy. Victoria Foyt and Frances Fisher, for instance, starred in ‘Babyfever,’ capturing the essence of this trilogy.
Jaglom’s deep commitment to portraying women’s stories stemmed from his belief that mainstream cinema often neglected these vital narratives. In a recent interview with novelist Mary Tabor, he candidly stated, ‘Hollywood is still a male town with male producers, mostly male directors, male writers, and they are aiming their movies at these teenage boys in the Midwest who want to see space aliens or vampires.’
He clarified his artistic intention: ‘I aim my films at a 10 or 15 percent, hopefully, level of the audience that wants to see grown-up films about human relationships.’
Scenes from ‘Eating’ in 1990 show Frances Bergen, Mary Crosby, and Marlena Giovi at a table, while ‘Going Shopping’ (2005) captured Jaglom, Victoria Foyt, and Mae Whitman on set, demonstrating his recurring themes.
Jaglom readily admitted that his films were polarizing, often eliciting strong reactions of either adoration or disdain. Critics frequently characterized his work as rambling and self-indulgent. The Guardian, in 1991, highlighted common descriptions of his films as ‘cinema as personal therapy,’ ‘psychobabble,’ and ‘diaries as art.’
With characteristic wit, he once told the newspaper, ‘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 the divided opinions, even his most skeptical critics often praised his audacious vision. Janet Maslin, in her Times review of ‘Eating,’ commented that viewed ‘through a colder eye,’ the film’s characters ‘would quickly become insufferable.’ However, she concluded that ‘Mr. Jaglom’s attitude toward his film’s dizzying array of narcissists is extremely fond, which is a lot of what gives ‘Eating’ its warmth and humor.’
Yet, Jaglom also garnered significant acclaim. Renowned critic Roger Ebert, for example, admired his 1997 romance, ‘Déjà Vu.’ Starring Victoria Foyt, Stephen Dillane, and Vanessa Redgrave, the film artfully wove in elements of magic realism to portray a man and woman discovering love amidst the complexities of midlife, a narrative inspired by Jaglom’s own blossoming relationship with Foyt. Vanessa Redgrave appeared with Jaglom on the set of ‘Déjà Vu,’ a film Ebert hailed as ‘not a weepy romantic melodrama, but a sophisticated film about smart people.’
Ebert’s praise continued, stating the film ‘is not a weepy romantic melodrama, but a sophisticated film about smart people.’ He further elaborated that its central characters became convincing lovers not through being ‘swept away,’ but by thoughtfully ‘regard[ing] what has happened to them, and accept[ing] it.’
Jaglom’s Hollywood journey began in the 1960s, a transformative era when television’s ascent shattered the traditional studio system, creating an opportune space for innovative young mavericks like him. He found early acting roles in counter-culture films, such as Richard Rush’s ‘Psych-Out’ (1968), where he appeared alongside Jack Nicholson and Adam Rourke.
Indeed, he landed early acting roles in films that defined the hippie era, including Richard Rush’s 1968 ‘Psych-Out,’ a cinematic exploration of San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury scene, starring Jack Nicholson and Susan Strasberg. The following year, Jaglom contributed to the editing of Dennis Hopper’s iconic counterculture film, ‘Easy Rider.’
His directorial debut arrived in 1971 with ‘A Safe Place,’ a film starring Tuesday Weld as a young woman struggling with New York City life while immersed in a fantastical, childlike reality. The movie also included Jack Nicholson and a memorable late-career performance from Orson Welles. On the set of ‘A Safe Place,’ Jaglom directed Tuesday Weld and Jack Nicholson, with Phil Proctor also a cast member.
Demonstrating his experimental leanings, ‘A Safe Place’ employed an avant-garde narrative where past, present, and future fluidly intertwined. Reviewing the film for The Times, Vincent Canby remarked that Jaglom ‘looks like a young director attempting to walk without ever having learned to crawl, which is too bad because there are indications that he might crawl with a good deal of style.’
Jaglom’s ambition extended beyond narrative structure to the depth of his subject matter. He was among the first directors to tackle the profound psychological toll of the Vietnam War with ‘Tracks’ (1976). This film starred Dennis Hopper as a paranoid veteran escorting a fallen comrade’s coffin across the country by train, a project whose disturbing themes led to a significant delay in its release.
His film ‘Someone to Love,’ a poignant reflection on loneliness and divorce, notably featured one of the final screen appearances by Orson Welles. Welles, a close friend and mentor with whom Jaglom shared almost weekly lunches, passed away in 1985, two years before the film’s release. Later, film historian Peter Biskind compiled these taped conversations into the acclaimed book ‘My Lunches With Orson’ (2013). In ‘Someone to Love’ (1987), Jaglom starred alongside Andrea Marcovicci, and the film featured Orson Welles in one of his final roles.
Reflecting on his mentor’s wisdom, Jaglom recalled a profound 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 David Jaglom was born on January 26, 1938, in London. He was the younger son of financier and real estate developer Simon M. Jaglom, and philanthropist and socialite Marie (Stadthagen) Jaglom. His older brother, Michael Emil Jaglom, would later adopt the name Michael Emil for his appearances in several of Henry’s films.
His father, a Jewish man from what is now Ukraine, initially fled to Germany in the wake of the Bolshevik Revolution. There, he married the German-Jewish Ms. Stadthagen. Together, they moved to England in the late 1930s to escape Nazi persecution, eventually settling in Manhattan when Henry was just an infant.
After completing his studies at Columbia Grammar & Preparatory School, Henry attended the University of Pennsylvania, immersing himself in the Pennsylvania Players, a respected campus theater group. He earned a bachelor’s degree in English in 1963 before continuing his artistic training under Lee Strasberg at the renowned Actors Studio workshop in New York.
In 1966, he moved to Hollywood, securing roles in sitcoms like ‘Gidget’ and ‘The Flying Nun.’ A year later, a trip to Israel resulted in an eight-millimeter documentary about the Six-Day War, a film that captured the interest of Bert Schneider, the producer behind ‘Easy Rider.’
He is survived by his daughter, Sabrina, and son, Simon Orson Jaglom, both from his marriage to Victoria Foyt, which concluded in divorce in 2013.
Embracing his often-criticized reputation, Jaglom ventured into self-parody with his 1992 film ‘Venice/Venice,’ starring as a self-absorbed maverick director at the Venice Film Festival. Janet Maslin, writing in The Times, noted that ‘Henry Jaglom knows exactly what his critics think of him, and in ‘Venice/Venice’ he tries to beat them to the punch.’ His film ‘Venice/Venice,’ co-starring Nelly Alard, was a playful nod to his public image.
Further insight into his unique personality came from the unflinchingly candid 1995 documentary, ‘Who Is Henry Jaglom?,’ directed by Henry Alex Rubin and Jeremy Workman.
Regardless of critical and public reception, Jaglom remained steadfastly true to his artistic vision. As he famously stated in a 1994 interview with The Chicago Tribune, ‘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.’