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TONY SILVER (STYLE WARS FILMMAKER) RIP
Thank you Tony, for your respect, your intellect and all that you gave to all of us.
We extend our condolences to the family and friends of Mr. Silver. He will be missed.
--@149st
Tony Silver Obituary
Tony Silver, award-winning documentary filmmaker, died of cancer at his home in Los Angeles on February 1, 2008. He was 72. He grew up in and around New York City and was a Ford Foundation scholar at Columbia University.
Mr. Silver was best known as the director and co-producer of Style Wars. The film chronicled the young artists of the graffiti subculture and the early stages of the New York City Hip Hop scene in the early 1980s. Mr. Silver recognized and captured on film the excitement of a new era of urban art and life. The film, a PBS special which won the Grand Prize for Documentaries at Sundance in 1984, celebrated its 20th anniversary re-release to continued acclaim at the Tribeca and Edinburgh Film Festivals. It continues to resonate throughout the worldwide rap and hip hop community as the most important film to capture the original spirit and vitality as it emerged from New York’s subways, streets and playgrounds into world consciousness.
His most recent feature documentary film, Marshall Arisman: Facing the Audience, depicts the life and artistic process of the celebrated painter and illustrator. It received the Santa Barbara International Film Festival’s prize for Creative and Artistic Achievement. Among his other films are Anita Ellis For the Record (1980), which captures the final recording session of a legendary jazz-pop artist; 30 Seconds At A Time, exploring a company’s response to employees who are victims of domestic violence; All You Can Be, about the Nursing Program of New York Hospital; and (Out)Law and Order (2005), chronicling a new conflict-resolution program integrating drama, language arts and social studies in Los Angeles middle schools.
Mr. Silver enjoyed a successful career creating theatrical and TV trailers, main titles, special effects and other marketing materials for motion pictures and home entertainment. He won a Clio for the trailer for Oliver Stone's Platoon and many other creative awards for films such as Wings of the Dove, The People vs. Larry Flynt, A Map of the World, Alien, The Shadow, Tribeca, Resurrection, and many others. He directed commercials for IBM, American Airlines, General Motors and the Bronx Zoo.
Mr. Silver served on panels at the National Endowment for the Arts, National Endowment for the Humanities and Corporation for Public Broadcasting. He lectured at universities, colleges and museums across the country. He was a member of the International Documentary Association, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the Directors Guild of America and the Scenic and Title Artists Union.
He is survived by his wife, Lisa Citron of Los Angeles, daughters Nini Silver of Milton, Massachusetts and Mariko Silver of Scottsdale Arizona, sister Jeanne Silver Frankl of Amagansett, New York, step-daughter, Meghan Tate, and his grandchildren: Duncan Saul Macdonald, and Lily and Niccolo Tate.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be sent to the non-profit organization, (Out)Laws and Justice, at www.outlawsandjustice.org.
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