Steve Carver

Steve Carver (April 5, 1945 – January 8, 2021) was an American film director, producer, and photographer.

Biography Carver attended Manhattan's High School of Music and Art and received his BA from Cornell University and his MFA from the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts at Washington University in St. Louis. He was originally interested in cartooning, commercial art and animation. He was a cameraman for the Wide World of Sports, for the St. Louis Cardinals, and made 30 documentaries in two years while teaching in St Louis area colleges. He worked as an assistant director on Dalton Trumbo's sole effort as director, Johnny Got His Gun (1971).

Carver's final AFI project was a short film based on Edgar Allan Poe's The Tell-Tale Heart starring Alex Cord and Sam Jaffe. The Los Angeles Times described it as "an effective mood piece, a beautiful work in ominous life and shadow".

"I loved AFI", said Carver. "It was an opportunity to use some very talented people."

Carver spent his first year at New World cutting trailers. He later estimated he cut 100-150 trailers in that time.

Big Bad Mama and Capone Corman was pleased with The Arena and gave Carver another directing job, a gangster film starring Angie Dickinson, Big Bad Mama (1974). Paul Bartel, who directed second unit on the film, described Carver as "very well organised" and "having great control of the medium".

Carver was going to make a film for Ray Stark with Susan Blakely, Freestyle, about a hotdog skier at the end of her career. However it was never made. Neither was another film Carver was attached to, Summer Camp from a script by Barry Schneider. Instead Carver directed Steel with Lee Majors, then made another for Roger Corman, Fast Charlie... the Moonbeam Rider (1979), starring David Carradine.

He did some uncredited work on a TV movie, Angel City (1980). Carver left the production, because the producers refused to fire actor Ralph Waite, who, according to Carver, came to the set drunk.

Death Carver died from COVID-19 in Los Angeles on January 8, 2021, at age 75, during the COVID-19 pandemic in California, though it was initially reported that he died from a heart attack.

Films The Tell-Tale Heart (1971) (short) – director, producer Johnny Got His Gun (1971) – assistant director The Arena (1974) – director Big Bad Mama (1974) – director Capone (1975) - director Drum (1976) – director Fast Charlie... the Moonbeam Rider (1979) – director Steel (1979) – director Angel City (1980) (TV movie) – director (uncredited) An Eye for an Eye (1981) – director Lone Wolf McQuade (1983) – director, producer Oceans of Fire (1986) (TV movie) – director Jocks (1987) – director Bulletproof (1988) – director River of Death (1989) – director Dead Center (1993) – director The Wolves (1996) – director