Altman's apprenticeship began in 1947 in his native Kansas City with the Calvin Company, a leading producer of industrial films. THE DELINQUENTS (1957), his first feature, was followed by THE JAMES DEAN STORY (1957), a docudrama that mapped out his intentions of using film to explore the reality behind pop culture icons.
From 1957 to 1965, Altman worked in Hollywood on a wide variety of TV programs including "Combat," "Alfred Hitchcock Presents," and "Bonanza;" his resistance to conformity, however, delayed his progression into feature filmmaking for another decade. COUNTDOWN (1968) and THAT COLD DAY IN THE PARK (1969) garnered some critical attention, but Altman's career took a dramatic turn with M*A*S*H (1970), a box-office and critical smash which won the Palme d'Or at Cannes. Altman characteristics were already emerging: the episodic structure, the penchant for black comedy, the ability to use a minute and detailed setting (here a medical unit during the Korean War) as a metaphor for broader social concerns. Success led him to form his own Lion's Gate production company -- complete with state-of-the-art editing and sound recording facilities -- where the creative process was once described as "controlled chaos."
Altman's ensuing films, BREWSTER MCCLOUD (1970), McCABE AND MRS. MILLER (1971), THE LONG GOODBYE (1973) and THIEVES LIKE US (1974), added to his reputation as an artist, but were all disappointments at the box office. They also demonstrated his interest, doubtless nurtured during his restless TV days, in revising genre conventions, hence the downbeat turns of the grim yet humorous Western McCABE, and the oddly relaxed quality of his excursion into noir with LONG GOODBYE.
NASHVILLE (1975), though, won back the audience, was nominated for several Oscars®, and invariably appears on critics' "Best of the 1970s" lists for its layered narrative, breezy character treatment and witty music. Technically, the film was perhaps most remarkable for its dense, multi-track sound, which enabled Altman to subtly merge a diverse and often satirical group of stories set in the world of country music and contemporary politics. The accolades stopped with the still underrated LESSON (a.k.a. BUFFALO BILL AND THE INDIANS, OR SITTING BULL'S HISTORY LESSON (1976), Altman's bicentennial film, which explored the marketing of American history. His feud with producer Dino De Laurentiis over its editing led to his dismissal from RAGTIME (1981), eventually directed by Milos Forman.
Altman debuted as a producer with WELCOME TO L.A. (1977), by his protégé Alan Rudolph, and THE LATE SHOW (1977), by screenwriter Robert Benton, both films echoing his fondness for quirky characters and situations. Altman's own directorial style continued to evolve and diversify with 3 WOMEN (1977), which won Shelley Duvall the best actress prize at Cannes, the freewheeling satire A WEDDING (1978) and QUINTET (1979), an obscurely poetic film set in a snowbound post-apocalyptic world. Two comedies of this period, the offbeat romance A PERFECT COUPLE (1979) and H.E.A.L.T.H. (1979), a send-up of America's health food craze, ran into distribution problems and were not widely seen. His final Lion's Gate film, POPEYE (1980), was a curious but off-the-mark cartoon recreation that, like all Altman films, has its champions.
In 1981, Altman sold Lion's Gate and turned his attention to the theater. He staged and then filmed the drama COME BACK TO THE FIVE AND DIME, JIMMY DEAN, JIMMY DEAN (1982); SECRET HONOR (1984) portrayed Richard Nixon (Philip Baker Hall) delivering an "apologia pro vita sua" monologue; and STREAMERS (1983), a film of David Rabe's play about stateside barracks life in the early days of the Vietnam War, garnered some critical support and a Venice Film Festival award for its ensemble cast. Paradoxically, Altman returned to carving a niche in the small screen, working on several made-for-TV productions including THE CAINE MUTINY COURT-MARTIAL (1988) and TANNER '88 (1988).
Treading water as a film director for much of the 80s, Altman helmed such little-seen misfires as BEYOND THERAPY and O.C. & STIGGS (both 1987) before regaining critical attention with his handsomely filmed, quietly intense portrait of the van Gogh brothers, VINCENT & THEO (1990). He followed up with his most acclaimed film in years and one of his most commercially successful ever, THE PLAYER (1992), a bravura, scathingly satirical look at Hollywood opportunism that reunited Altman's restless camera stylistics with his ironic take on popular culture.
SHORT CUTS (1993), meanwhile, suggested a return to the collage of portraits from NASHVILLE, as 22 actors in nine different tales enacted Altman's take on writer Raymond Carver's stories of families and marital problems in a darkly rendered vision of Southern California life. Altman continued in a lighter but similar panoramic vein with READY TO WEAR (PRÊT-À-PORTER), as another highly varied collection of current and past stars and character players enacted roles in a satirical look at the world of couture fashion during the Paris shows. Unlike his two previous films, however, READY TO WEAR failed to provide an insight into the subject matter and characters.
Other notable (non-nominated) credits include IMAGES (1972), CALIFORNIA SPLIT (1974, also producer), KANSAS CITY (1996, also producer), JAZZ '34 (1996, also producer), the TV series "Gun" (1997, also executive producer), THE GINGERBREAD MAN (1998), COOKIE'S FORTUNE (1999), DR. T & THE WOMEN (2000, also producer), GOSFORD PARK (2001, also producer) and THE COMPANY (2003, also producer). Altman was presented with an Honorary Oscar® at the Awards ceremonies in 2006. His last film was 2006's A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION.
Nominated for Directing 1970: M*A*S*H
Nominated for Best Picture 1975: NASHVILLE - Producer at ABC Entertainment
Nominated for Directing 1975: NASHVILLE
Nominated for Achievement in Directing 1992: THE PLAYER
Nominated for Achievement in Directing 1993: SHORT CUTS
Nominated for Best Picture of 2001: GOSFORD PARK - Producer at Sancastle 5 (w. Bob Balaban & David Levy)
Nominated for Achievement in Directing 2001: GOSFORD PARK
Testimonial Award 2005: For "a career that has repeatedly reinvented the art form and inspired filmmakers and audiences alike." Honoree presented statuette.
7 nominations, 1 Testimonial Award