George Armitage obit

George Armitage, ‘Grosse Pointe Blank’ and ‘Miami Blues’ Director, Dies at 83

With a career boost from Roger Corman, he also helmed the action movies ‘Hit Man’ and ‘Vigilante Force.’ 

He was not on the list.

George Armitage, who co-wrote and directed the Alec Baldwin-starring Miami Blues and helmed another 1990s black comedy, Grosse Pointe Blank, starring John Cusack, has died. He was 83.

Armitage died Feb. 15 in Playa del Rey, California, his son, Brent Armitage, announced.

As was the case with many others, Armitage got a big career boost in the early 1970s from legendary B-movie producer Roger Corman at New World Pictures.

Armitage also wrote and directed MGM’s Hit Man (1972), starring Bernie Casey and Pam Grier, and United Artists’ Vigilante Force (1976), starring Kris Kristofferson and Jan-Michael Vincent. Both those films were produced by Roger’s brother, Gene Corman.

Miami Blues (1990), based on the series of Hoke Moseley books by author Charles Willeford, featured Baldwin as Frederick J. Frenger Jr., who steals the badge and gun of a veteran cop (Fred Ward as Moseley) and embarks on an outrageous crime spree with a hooker (Jennifer Jason Leigh).

He scored again with Grosse Pointe Blank (1997), in which Cusack portrayed a professional assassin who attends his 10-year high school reunion in the Detroit suburb.

The youngest of two sons, George Brendan Armitage was born in 1942 in Hartford, Connecticut. He moved to Los Angeles with his family in 1957 and majored in political science and immersed himself in film school at UCLA.

While in college, he landed a job in the mailroom at 20th Century Fox and within 18 months was working as an associate producer on ABC’s Peyton Place under the guidance of producer Everett Chambers in 1967.

His first screenplay, the renegade youth comedy Gas-s-s-s or It Became Necessary to Destroy the World in Order to Save It (1970), caught the attention of Roger Corman.

In the summer of 1970, Corman was heading to Ireland to direct the war film Von Richthofen and Brown (1971) and offered Armitage a role in the film while he worked on his script. He met the movie’s publicist, future director Jonathan Demme, and the two would become lifelong friends.

For Corman, Armitage also wrote and/or directed Private Duty Nurses (1971), Night Call Nurses (1972), Caged Heat (1974), Darktown Strutters (1975) and Fighting Mad (1976).

Much later, he directed and produced The Big Bounce (2004), based on a novel by Elmore Leonard and starring Owen Wilson.

In addition to his son, survivors include his wife of 63 years, Sharon; daughter-in-law Rhonda Sena; grandchildren Caroline and Nick Armitage; niece Wendy Svehlak-Thorlakson, a producer; and nephew Dennis Thorlakson, an editor.

“I have a very personal relationship to film,” Armitage once said. “I’ve gone to films all the time since I was a kid. I thought I could have some fun trying to make them. I always thought I was pretty close to what people were thinking.

“There’s lots of tricks to be played, things to be done in film. Film is so close to the way the mind works — the way the mind communicates with itself. Film is a dream, an emotional coda.”

Director

Morgan Freeman, Charlie Sheen, Gary Sinise, Vinnie Jones, Owen Wilson, and Sara Foster in The Big Bounce (2004)

The Big Bounce

4.9

Director

2004

 

John Cusack and Minnie Driver in Grosse Pointe Blank (1997)

Grosse Pointe Blank

7.3

Director

1997

 

Alec Baldwin, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Fred Ward in Miami Blues (1990)

Miami Blues

6.4

Director

1990

 

Hot Rod (1979)

Hot Rod

6.5

TV Movie

Director

1979

 

Victoria Principal, Kris Kristofferson, Bernadette Peters, and Jan-Michael Vincent in Vigilante Force (1976)

Vigilante Force

5.2

Director

1976

 

Bernie Casey in Hit Man (1972)

Hit Man

5.7

Director

1972

 

Katherine Cannon, Joyce Williams, and Pegi Boucher in Private Duty Nurses (1971)

Private Duty Nurses

4.5

Director

1971

 

Writer

The Late Shift (1996)

The Late Shift

6.7

TV Movie

teleplay

1996

 

Alec Baldwin, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Fred Ward in Miami Blues (1990)

Miami Blues

6.4

screenplay

1990

 

Bill Paxton, Brian Dennehy, Jeff Fahey, and Joe Pantoliano in The Last of the Finest (1990)

The Last of the Finest

5.8

screenplay

1990

 

Hot Rod (1979)

Hot Rod

6.5

TV Movie

written by

1979

 

Victoria Principal, Kris Kristofferson, Bernadette Peters, and Jan-Michael Vincent in Vigilante Force (1976)

Vigilante Force

5.2

written by

1976

 

Darktown Strutters (1975)

Darktown Strutters

4.7

screenplay by

1975

 

Bernie Casey in Hit Man (1972)

Hit Man

5.7

screenplay

1972

 

Night Call Nurses (1972)

Night Call Nurses

4.5

Writer

1972

 

Monty Nash (1971)

Monty Nash

6.4

TV Series

written by

1971

1 episode

 

Katherine Cannon, Joyce Williams, and Pegi Boucher in Private Duty Nurses (1971)

Private Duty Nurses

4.5

Writer

1971

 

Gas! -Or- It Became Necessary to Destroy the World in Order to Save It. (1970)

Gas! -Or- It Became Necessary to Destroy the World in Order to Save It.

4.2

screenplay by

1970

 

Actor

Peter Fonda and Kathleen Miller in Fighting Mad (1976)

Fighting Mad

5.8

Man playing tennis (uncredited)

1976

 

Juanita Brown, Roberta Collins, Erica Gavin, Ella Reid, and Cheryl Smith in Caged Heat (1974)

Caged Heat

5.3

Family Car Driver

1974

 

Von Richthofen and Brown (1971)

Von Richthofen and Brown

6.0

Wolff

1971

 

Gas! -Or- It Became Necessary to Destroy the World in Order to Save It. (1970)

Gas! -Or- It Became Necessary to Destroy the World in Order to Save It.

4.2

Billy the Kid

1970

 

Producer

Morgan Freeman, Charlie Sheen, Gary Sinise, Vinnie Jones, Owen Wilson, and Sara Foster in The Big Bounce (2004)

The Big Bounce

4.9

producer

2004

 

Katherine Cannon, Joyce Williams, and Pegi Boucher in Private Duty Nurses (1971)

Private Duty Nurses

4.5

producer

1971

 

Gas! -Or- It Became Necessary to Destroy the World in Order to Save It. (1970)

Gas! -Or- It Became Necessary to Destroy the World in Order to Save It.

4.2

associate producer

1970

 

Peyton Place (1964)

Peyton Place

7.3

TV Series

associate producer (as George B. Armitage)

1967

63 episodes

 

Thanks

The Burning Bride

special thanks

Completed

 

Mutiny! (2021)

Mutiny!

Short

special thanks

2021

 

Joy Division (2010)

Joy Division

7.3

Short

special thanks

2010