Peter Werner, Emmy-nominated TV director who won a Best Short Film Oscar in 1977, died suddenly this morning in Wilmington, NC from heart complications following a torn aorta.
Born in New York City in January 1947, Werner graduated with Masters degrees in education and documentary filmmaking. He started off as a V.I.S.T.A.
Volunteer in downtown Detroit before co-founding a Quaker high school in Deerfield, MA. While teaching in Vermont, he met Frances Flaherty, widow of Robert Flaherty, known as the father of the documentary film.
She became Werner’s friend and mentor, and he made a documentary about her that aired on PBS. It was produced by Werner’s younger brother, Tom Werner, who went on to become a top TV comedy producer behind such hit series as The Cosby Show, That ’70s Show, Roseanne and The Conners as well as co-owner of the Boston Red Sox and Liverpool Football Club.
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