About D. A. Pennebaker
Donn Alan Pennebaker (; July 15, 1925 – August 1, 2019) was an American documentary filmmaker and one of the pioneers of direct cinema. Performing arts and politics were his primary subjects. In 2013, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recognized his body of work with an Academy Honorary Award. The Independent called Pennebaker "arguably the pre-eminent chronicler of Sixties counterculture". Pennebaker was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature for The War Room (1993). He is also known for directing the documentaries Dont Look Back (1967), Monterey Pop (1968), Original Cast Album: Company (1971), Eat the Document (1972), Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (1979), Jimi Plays Monterey (1986), Elaine Stritch: At Liberty (2004), and Kings of Pastry (2009). == Early life and education == Pennebaker (known as "Penny" to his friends) was born in Evanston, Illinois, the son of Lucille Levick (née Deemer) and John Paul Pennebaker, who was a commercial photographer. Pennebaker served in the Navy during World War II. He then studied engineering at Yale and later worked as an engineer, founding Electronics Engineering (the makers of the first computerized airline reservation system) before beginning his film career. == Career == === 1953–1963 === After falling under the influence of experimental filmmaker Francis Thompson, Pennebaker directed his first film, Daybreak Express, in 1953. Set to a classic Duke Ellington recording of the same name, the five-minute short features a shadowy montage of the soon-to-be-demolished Third Avenue elevated subway in New York City.
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