Jonathan Kaplan, the filmmaker who steered Jodie Foster to an Academy Award in 1988’s “The Accused” and later collected five Emmy nominations for directing and producing “ER,” died Friday, August 1, at his Los Angeles home after a battle with liver cancer, his daughter Molly confirmed. He was 77. News of his death spread through Hollywood over the weekend as former collaborators shared memories online.
Born in Paris on November 25 1947, to composer Sol Kaplan and actor Frances Heflin, Kaplan studied at the University of Chicago before moving to New York University, where mentor Martin Scorsese recommended him to producer Roger Corman. Corman assigned him the drive-in hit “Night Call Nurses” (1972), launching a run that included “Truck Turner,” “White Line Fever” and the suburban-rebellion drama “Over the Edge” (1979). Friends recall him as an incisive storyteller with an instinct for urgent social themes.
Kaplan’s feature work deepened in the 1980s with “Heart Like a Wheel” and the chimp-study thriller “Project X,” but it was the searing courtroom narrative of “The Accused” that cemented his reputation, earning Foster her first Oscar and drawing attention to sexual-assault prosecution standards. He followed with “Immediate Family,” police-home-invasion thriller “Unlawful Entry,” civil-rights period piece “Love Field” and the Thai-set prison drama “Brokedown Palace” in 1999, the last of his 13 theatrical features.
Kaplan then moved almost entirely to television, directing over 50 episodes of “ER” — often doubling as producer — along with stints on “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” “Without a Trace” and “Brothers & Sisters,” earning a reputation for coaxing raw, performance-driven scenes under tight network schedules. His “ER” work brought five Emmy nominations between 1999 and 2006.
Tributes poured in from colleagues: actor Harry Northup called Kaplan “a loving, supportive director,” while longtime collaborator Joe Dante praised his early Corman years and unwavering social conscience. Kaplan is survived by Molly, his only child.
