Stanley KramerStanley Earl Kramer (September 29, 1913 – February 19, 2001) was an American film director and producer, renowned for his socially conscious “message films” that tackled issues like racism, nuclear war, and fascism. Notable works include The Defiant Ones (1958), On the Beach (1959), Judgment at Nuremberg (1961), and Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (1967). His films earned 16 Academy Awards and 80 nominations, and he received the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award in 1961 for his contributions to cinema.
In the 1980s, Kramer retired to Bellevue and took on a new role in the Seattle media scene. From 1980 to 1996, he wrote a movie column for The Seattle Times and hosted a weekly movie show on KCPQ 13, then an independent television station. This show, often referred to as part of KCPQ’s branding as “The Northwest’s Movie Channel,” featured Kramer introducing films, likely drawing on his extensive film expertise to provide context and commentary. His hosting role aligned with KCPQ’s programming strategy in the early 1980s, which emphasized uncut movies with limited commercial interruptions, such as their broadcast of The Deer Hunter in 1980.
Kramer’s time in Seattle also included teaching filmmaking at the University of Washington, reflecting his continued passion for cinema education. He published his autobiography, A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World: A Life in Hollywood, in 1997, and passed away in 2001 at age 87 from pneumonia in Woodland Hills, California.