Alex Grasshoff

Alexander Grasshoff (December 10, 1928—April 5, 2008) was an American documentary filmmaker. Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Grasshoff earned a bachelor's degree in cinema at the University of Southern California and began his career as an editor at Paramount in 1951.cite news |first=Dennis |last=McLellan |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Alex Grasshoff, 79; documentary filmmaker had to give back his Oscar |url=http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-grasshoff20apr20,1,363615.story |work=Los Angeles Times |publisher= |date=2008-04-20 |accessdate=2008-04-30 ] Along with fellow producer Robert Cohn, he is best known for writing and directing the documentary "Young Americans", won an Academy Award for best feature documentary in April 1969. However, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences soon found out the film had been shown first in October 1967, thus mading it ineligible for a 1968 award and the Oscar status was revoked. Grasshoff, who reportedly slept with the Oscar on the fist night, also directed Academy Award-winning films "The Really Big Family" (1966) and "Journey to the Outer Limits" (1973).

Grasshoff died on April 5, 2008 at his home in Los Angeles of complications from bypass surgery on a leg. He is survived by his wife of 38 years, Madilyn Clark Grasshoff, and two sisters, Yrsa Grasshoff and Edith Rand.

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