Peter Askin

Peter Askin (born 1940) is an actor, director, producer and screenwriter best known for directing the 2007 film Trumbo, a documentary about the Oscar-winning Hollywood screenwriter Dalton Trumbo who was blacklisted for being a member of the Hollywood Ten.[1] For the film, he worked closely with Trumbo's son, Christopher Trumbo.[2]

Biography

Born to a Jewish family,[3] Askin is the son of Alma Askin, the daughter of Joseph Durst,[4] the founder of the Durst Organization and member of one of the most prominent real estate families in New York City in the 20th century.[5] He was educated at Middlebury College and Columbia University.[6] He trained under Wynn Handman at The American Place Theatre in New York City.[6] Askin made his debut in 1986 with Down an Alley Filled with Cats.[6] Askin was the screenwriter for such films as Company Man (which he also co-directed) and Smithereens, and he directed and produced the musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch.[7] Askin operates the Off-Broadway Westside Theatre. Askin is the Principal Producer of New York-based film and entertainment company Reno Productions. Both fictional movies and documentaries are produced. In 2022 Askin released Salt in My Soul.[8]

References

  1. ^ Cieply, Michael (September 11, 2007). "A Voice From the Blacklist: Documentary Lets Dalton Trumbo Speak (Through Surrogates)". The New York Times. Retrieved December 15, 2011.
  2. ^ "Dalton Trumbo – Interview with Director Peter Askin". PBS. Retrieved December 16, 2001.
  3. ^ "Theater; Sex, Even Love, Whatever It Takes to Connect" by John Leguizamo, The New York Times, November 25, 2001
  4. ^ "Paid Notice: Deaths Askin, Alma", The New York Times, April 22, 2002
  5. ^ "In City Real Estate, Old Clans Are Shrewd Again" by Charles V. Bagli, The New York Times, February 8, 2010
  6. ^ a b c Hischak, Thomas S. Enter the Playmakers: Directors and Choreographers on the New York Stage, 2006
  7. ^ "Hedwig and the Angry Inch". The Internet Off-Broadway Database. Retrieved December 16, 2011.
  8. ^ "’Salt in My Soul’ Review: Living, Even Thriving, With Illness" by Ben Kenigsberg, The New York Times