Film director Monte Hellman, known for helming Two-Lane Blacktop and Ride in the Whirlwind, is no more. The 91-year-old filmmaker passed away on Tuesday, 20 April at a hospital in California, a day after a fall at his residence. Monte’s daughter Melissa Hellman, who is also a producer, confirmed his death to The Hollywood Reporter.
Remembering her father, Melissa said, "He was my best friend." Apart from his daughter, he is survived by his son Jared and brother Herb Himmelbaum.
Monte Hellman’s (born as Monte Himmelbaum) parents were visiting Brooklyn when he was born on 12 July, 1929 and was raised in Albany, New York and then California. His mother was a housewife, while his father was a grocer and a gambler. Initially, he used to make money by selling portrait photographs while attending Los Angeles High School. With a degree in theatre, he graduated from Stanford University and later studied film at UCLA.
Monte started his career as an editor's apprentice at ABC. In 1959, he made his directorial debut with Beast From Haunted Cave which was produced by Roger Corman and featured a spider-like monster. After his debut film, he called some shots along with Francis Ford Coppola and Corman on The Terror which released in 1963.
He was also known for helming genre films like the 1964 film Back Door to Hell which was a war drama and James Taylor, Dennis Wilson-starrer acclaimed road movie Two-Lane Blacktop.
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