Arthur Zegart

Arthur Zegart (March 16, 1916 - February 2, 1989) was an American documentary film producer. He produced 125 documentary films for television.

Early life Zegart was born on March 16, 1916, in Chicago. Zegart's father, Joseph, emigrated from Poland in 1913 after being drafted into the Tsar's cavalry, much of Poland then being under Russian rule. A Jew from the little village of Sokolow who had never been on a horse and had suffered through violent anti-Jewish pogroms, he evaded authorities and escaped into Austria-Hungary, ultimately finding his way to Chicago via Canada. Joseph Zegart settled in an Irish neighborhood on the south side of Chicago where anti-Semitism was common, and the experience of anti-Jewish feeling - and physical violence - made a life-long impression on young Arthur Zegart. During the Great Depression, Arthur and his three younger siblings were placed in a Jewish orphanage after his mother became ill and Joseph could no longer support the family. Zegart became fascinated with photography as a young man, but was originally a pre-medical student at the University of Chicago, from which he graduated. In the mid-1930s, he traveled to the Middle East, North Africa, southwestern France and Spain, taking pictures of refugees from the Spanish Civil War and of Arab and Palestinian culture.

Career Zegart began his career at United Press International, and he later worked for the United Nations in post-war Europe, filming the plight of World War II refugees for the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Agency, and later the UN's International Refugee Organization, followed by a stint with the National Science Foundation. including for NBC White Paper in 1962.

Personal life and death With his wife Patricia, Zegart had a son, Dan, and a daughter, Caroline. They resided in South Nyack, New York.

Zegart, who for years had had a rare blood disorder with a poor prognosis, committed suicide by jumping off the Tappan Zee Bridge on February 2, 1989, at age 72.