Irwin Rosten

Irwin Rosten (September 10, 1924 – May 23, 2010) was an American documentary filmmaker who also produced several hour-long documentaries for television. He is best known for his 1975 film The Incredible Machine. He was twice nominated for an Academy Award and won an Emmy Award for the documentary Mysteries of the Mind.

Rosten was born on September 10, 1924, in Brooklyn. He began his career as a documentary filmmaker during the 1950s with the DuMont Television Network, where he was manager of news and public affairs.

Rosten co-wrote the film narration (alongside James Dugan) for Conshelf Adventure (1966), the first film in the documentary TV series The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau, featuring Jacques Cousteau, Philippe Cousteau, André Laban, Jacques Rollet, Christian Bonnici, Raymond Coll and Yves Omer. In addition to his collaboration with the Cousteau Team, Rosten produced such films as The Wolf Men, his 1969 film about the hunting of timberwolves, and The Incredible Machine (1975), both of which received nominations for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. His 1974 film Birds Do It, Bees Do It was screened at the 1974 Cannes Film Festival. He earned Emmy Awards, a Peabody Award and Writers Guild of America Awards. He was survived by his wife, Marilyn Ryan, as well as by a son, Peter