Born in New York City. Independent, budget-bound filmmaker who emerged in 1980 from the relative obsucrity of cheap motorcycle movies and brutal Westerns with the outstanding drama/black comedy THE STUNT MAN. The project had taken him nine years to get off the ground and two more to move from the shelf to the screen. But it earned Rush Academy Award nominations for Best Director and Best Screenplay. It was his last directorial effort until 1994's COLOR OF NIGHT. In 2000, he wrote, produced and directed the video documentary THE SINISTER SAGA OF MAKING "THE STUNT MAN," in which Rush explores the reasons why his talent never got the wide recognition he claims it deserves. Other notable (non-nominated) credits include: (as director) TOO SOON TO LOVE (1960), OF LOVE AND DESIRE (1963), A MAN CALLED DAGGER, THUNDER ALLEY, HELLS ANGELS ON WHEELS and EL DEDO DEL DESTINO / THE FICKLE FINGER OF FATE (all 1967), PSYCH-OUT and THE SAVAGE SEVEN (both 1968), GETTING STRAIGHT (1970, also producer), FREEBIE AND THE BEAN (1974, also producer) and COLOR OF NIGHT (1994); (as writer) AIR AMERICA (1990).  Nominated for Directing 1980: THE STUNT MAN  Nominated for Writing (Best Screenplay based on material from another medium) 1980: THE STUNT MAN (w. Lawrence B. Marcus) 2 nominations