Richard Sarafian

Richard Caspar Sarafian was a director and actor, best known for helming the 1971 cult-classic car-chase thriller, Vanishing Point.

Sarafian was born in New York City on April 28, 1930, to Armenian immigrant parents. Early jobs included working as a researcher for Life magazine, as well as reporting for an army news service in Korea. It was during this stint that he met director Robert Altman while stationed in Kansas City. After taking a film course at New York University, Sarafian got a job as Altman's assistant and later married Helen Joan Altman, the director's sister.

Sarafian started out in documentaries before moving into television. He worked primarily on the small screen early in his career, directing episodes of the popular shows Gunsmoke, I Spy, 77 Sunset Strip and Batman. He also directed a popular 1963 episode of The Twilight Zone called "The Living Doll," which starred Telly Savalas as a man haunted by a demonic talking doll named Talky Tina.

Additional television work came directing episodes of over 20 other shows, including Maverick, Bronco, Lawman, The Gallant Men, Slattery's People, Ben Casey, The Long, Hot Summer, The Wild Wild West, The Girl from U.N.C.L.E., Jericho, The Guns of Will Sonnett and The Danny Thomas Hour.  

He directed his first feature film, Terror at Black Falls, in 1962. From there, he went on to direct the films Run Wild, Run Free (1969) and Fragment of Fear (1970), before his most well-known work, Vanishing Point, in 1971. The film, starring Barry Newman as a Vietnam veteran who must transport a 1970 Dodge Challenger from Denver to San Francisco in under 15 hours, gained a huge cult following. Vanishing Point put Sarafian on the map as one of the most influential directors of the 1970s, and was said to inspire Quentin Tarantino's 2007 film Death Proof. 

Later films that he directed were Sunburn (1979), starring Farrah Fawcett, and The Bear (1984), with Gary Busey. His final film, the science-fiction thriller Solar Crisis (1990), had him credited under the industry pseudonym "Alan Smithee."

Sarafian was also a notable actor. His television credits included the series Foley Square (1985-1986), as well as appearances on episodes of MacGyver, Wiseguy and Michael Hayes, starring David Caruso. He also had roles in many TV movies, including Long Time Gone (1986), Liberty (1986), Miami Hustle (1996) and Gotti (1996). 

His big screen credits included the films Bugsy (1991), Don Juan DeMarco (1994), The Crossing Guard (1995), Bound (1996), Bulworth (1998) and Blue Streak (1999). He also provided the voice of God Beaver for Dr. Dolittle 2 in 2001. 

Sarafian died September 18, 2013, in Santa Monica, California. He was 83.