Who was Jonathan Kaplan? The Accused director dies at 77

Jonathan Kaplan, known for being the producer of ER and director of The Accused, has died at the age of 77. The news was reportedly confirmed by his daughter, Molly Kaplan. According to her statement, the director died on August 1 in his LA home. The reason behind his death was advanced liver cancer.

Jonathan Kaplan, a Paris-born actor and director, was the son of Sol Kaplan and Frances Heflin. He worked on a number of famous movies and TV series, including Without A Trace, ER, Bad Girls, and A Gifted Man.

Also known by his alternative name, Jonathan Dark, Jonathan Kaplan guided two actresses to Oscar nominations, including Michelle Pfeiffer for Love Field and Jodie Foster for The Accused.

Jonathan Kaplan was a five-time Emmy nominee

Kaplan earned 5 Primetime Emmy Award nominations in his career for ER, which included production credits with John Wells and Michael Crichton that led them to be nominated for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series in 1999, 2000, and 2001. He was also nominated for directing episodes in 2000 and 2001.

He was also a nominee of the Leo Awards, CableACE Awards, and Berlin International Film Festival. Remembering Roger Corman, who gave Kaplan his start by letting him direct his first Hollywood film, Night Call Nurses, he said in a statement as per The Hollywood Reporter:

"Working with and for Roger Corman was great. All I had to do was deliver the nudity, the thrills, the kinkiness, and the comedy, that had become Roger’s trademark — and I did. When I was first given the project, the studio was thinking about using either Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine or Robert Mitchum in the lead role."

He continued:

"But then I got a call from Larry telling me that I would be making the picture with Isaac Hayes instead. I said, ‘That’s quite a switch from Robert Mitchum!’."

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Jonathan Kaplan was previously married to Julie Selzer. The couple was together for around fourteen years before divorcing in 2001.

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