Key Points
Pioneering director who worked with Roger Corman
Made critically acclaimed Miami Blues in 1990
Discovered talents like Jennifer Jason Leigh
Worked across multiple film genres from comedy to thriller
The news of George Armitage's demise was confirmed by his son Brent. As per Brent, his father breathed his last on Saturday in Playa del Rey, Variety reported.
Armitage started out in the 20th Century Fox mailroom before becoming associate producer on the long-running series "Peyton Place" in the 1960s. He met Roger Corman on the Fox lot and moved into feature films, writing the Corman-produced 1970 comedy "Gas! - Or - It Became Necessary to Destroy the World in Order to Save It."
He continued making films for Corman and his brother Gene Corman, moving into directing with "Private Duty Nurses." The 1972 Blaxploitation film "Hit Man," which he directed and co-wrote, starred Pam Grier and Bernie Casey. Next up was "Vigilante Force," with Kris Kristofferson and Jan-Michael Vincent, and the TV movie "Hot Rod."
Armitage's next film as director, the 1990 comedic thriller "Miami Blues," was based on a Charles Willeford novel. Starring Alec Baldwin and Fred Ward, it garnered attention for Jennifer Jason-Leigh's performance. Also in 1990, Armitage co-wrote cop actioner "Last of the Finest."
He was Emmy-nominated for co-writing the 1996 TV movie "The Late Shift," the story of the rivalry between David Letterman and Jay Leno over who would succeed Johnny Carson.
His final credit was the 2004 crime pic "The Big Bounce," starring Owen Wilson and Morgan Freeman in a story co-written by Elmore Leonard.
