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Bruce Kessler is a Director and Second Unit Director American born on 23 march 1936 at Seattle (USA)
Bruce Kessler (born March 23, 1936) is an American racing driver and film and television director.
He entered one World Championship Formula One Grand Prix (Monaco 1958) with a Connaught owned by Bernie Ecclestone, but failed to qualify, although he posted the 21st fastest time of the 28 entrants.
Kessler born in Seattle, Washington and grew up in Beverly Hills, California. He was the son of a clothing designer. In the early 1950s he started racing his mother's Jaguar XK120 in the Sports Car Club of America races at sixteen years old. He raced the road race courses at Paramount Ranch and Willow Springs in California. He was a team driver along with Chuck Daigh for the Scarab race cars built by his good friend Lance Reventlow in the late 1950s.
Kessler and Reventlow, driving Reventlow's Mercedes-Benz SL aluminum coupe had stopped at Blackwells Corner on CA Rt. 466/133 on September 30, 1955 on their way to the Salinas Road Races when James Dean and his mechanic, Rolf Wutherich pulled in with Dean's Porsche Spyder. They all agreed to meet for dinner at Paso Robles, about 60 miles away that evening. Reventlow and Kessler took off 10 minutes earlier. Dean never made it as he was involved in a fatal two-car crash at Rt. 466/41 near Cholame 30 miles away. Kessler, today, remains the last person alive who spoke with James Dean before his death.
The Scarabs won the International Grand Prix at Riverside, California beating the famous driver Phil Hill and the Ferrari team. Kessler was invited to Europe to drive at Le Mans.
On 22 March 1958 Kessler became class winner at "12 hour Florida International Grand Prix of Endurance for the AMOCO Trophy" (12 h Sebring), driving a Ferrari 250 GT LWB (#0773GT).
After a serious crash at the 1959 Examiner Grand Prix at Pomona, California, he spent days in a coma. Soon after, he retired from racing.
Kessler came back to California and became a film and television director. He directed many television films and series. One of his earliest efforts was a short film he directed on the Scarab race car for his friend Lance Reventlow called The Sound of Speed. As a film and television director, some his credits include Angels from Hell, The Monkees, The Flying Nun, Mission: Impossible, It Takes a Thief, Marcus Welby, M.D., The Rockford Files, McCloud, CHiPs, The Greatest American Hero, The A-Team, Hunter and Renegade, his last directing credit.
Kessler was also a world class skeet and trap shooter. He is now retired in Florida.
Source : Wikidata
Bruce Kessler
He entered one World Championship Formula One Grand Prix (Monaco 1958) with a Connaught owned by Bernie Ecclestone, but failed to qualify, although he posted the 21st fastest time of the 28 entrants.
Kessler born in Seattle, Washington and grew up in Beverly Hills, California. He was the son of a clothing designer. In the early 1950s he started racing his mother's Jaguar XK120 in the Sports Car Club of America races at sixteen years old. He raced the road race courses at Paramount Ranch and Willow Springs in California. He was a team driver along with Chuck Daigh for the Scarab race cars built by his good friend Lance Reventlow in the late 1950s.
Kessler and Reventlow, driving Reventlow's Mercedes-Benz SL aluminum coupe had stopped at Blackwells Corner on CA Rt. 466/133 on September 30, 1955 on their way to the Salinas Road Races when James Dean and his mechanic, Rolf Wutherich pulled in with Dean's Porsche Spyder. They all agreed to meet for dinner at Paso Robles, about 60 miles away that evening. Reventlow and Kessler took off 10 minutes earlier. Dean never made it as he was involved in a fatal two-car crash at Rt. 466/41 near Cholame 30 miles away. Kessler, today, remains the last person alive who spoke with James Dean before his death.
The Scarabs won the International Grand Prix at Riverside, California beating the famous driver Phil Hill and the Ferrari team. Kessler was invited to Europe to drive at Le Mans.
On 22 March 1958 Kessler became class winner at "12 hour Florida International Grand Prix of Endurance for the AMOCO Trophy" (12 h Sebring), driving a Ferrari 250 GT LWB (#0773GT).
After a serious crash at the 1959 Examiner Grand Prix at Pomona, California, he spent days in a coma. Soon after, he retired from racing.
Kessler came back to California and became a film and television director. He directed many television films and series. One of his earliest efforts was a short film he directed on the Scarab race car for his friend Lance Reventlow called The Sound of Speed. As a film and television director, some his credits include Angels from Hell, The Monkees, The Flying Nun, Mission: Impossible, It Takes a Thief, Marcus Welby, M.D., The Rockford Files, McCloud, CHiPs, The Greatest American Hero, The A-Team, Hunter and Renegade, his last directing credit.
Kessler was also a world class skeet and trap shooter. He is now retired in Florida.
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Filmography of Bruce Kessler (5 films)
Director
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Murder in Peyton Place (1977)
, 1h40Directed by Bruce Kessler
Genres Drama
Actors Dorothy Malone, Ed Nelson, Tim O'Connor, Christopher Connelly, Janet Margolin, Marj Dusay
Rating65%
The film starts with Stella Chernak (Stella Stevens), who arrives at the Peyton Tower Hotel in Peyton Place after an absence of numerous years. She has returned to destroy the small town, and is able to use her power through Jay Kamens (Norman Burton), the president of the Peyton Mills and her trustee. Another former citizen returning to Peyton Place is Betty Anderson (Janet Margolin). Although she is now married to David Roerick (Edward Bell), she agreed to a secret meeting with her ex-husband Rodney Harrington near Peyton Place. Her friend Denise Haley (Charlotte Stewart) offers her a roof, despite her husband Stan Haley's (Jonathan Goldsmith) objections about her presence.
Simon, King of the Witches (1971)
, 1h31Directed by Bruce Kessler
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Comedy, Horror
Actors Andrew Prine, Brenda Scott, Norman Burton, Isabelle Collin-Dufresne
Rating57%
Simon Sinestrari (Andrew Prine), a cynical Ceremonial magician, is on a quest to become a god. Simon is living in a sewer, selling his charms and potions for money, when he is befriended by a young male prostitute named Turk (George Paulsin). Turk introduces Simon to his world of drugs, wild parties, and bizarre Satanic rituals featuring a goat and Andy Warhol star Ultra Violet. Death, freakouts and mayhem ensue, along with romance for Simon with the district attorney's vague daughter (Brenda Scott).
The Gay Deceivers (1969)
, 1h37Directed by Bruce Kessler
Origin USA
Genres Comedy
Themes Films about sexuality, LGBT-related films, LGBT-related films, LGBT-related film
Actors Brooke Bundy, Jo Ann Harris, Lawrence P. Casey, Michael Greer, Jack Starrett, Richard Webb
Rating58%
The Gay Deceivers follows Danny and Elliot, two friends who try to get out of the draft by pretending to be gay. They're placed under surveillance by the Army and have to keep up the pretense. They move into a gay apartment building and try to blend in with the residents, all the while trying to maintain their romantic relationships with women and not get caught by the Army.
Angels from Hell (1968)
, 1h26Directed by Bruce Kessler
Origin USA
Genres Action
Themes Transport films, Road movies
Actors Arlene Martel, Ted Markland, Jack Starrett, Tom Stern, Pepper Martin, Sharmagne Leland-St. John
Rating49%
A former motorcycle gang leader, Mike (Tom Stern), returns home from Vietnam to resume his life and form a new motorcycle gang. Using all his gathered experience as a hero from the war he tries to unite all the existing motorcycle gangs in the neighborhood and put together a brand new, super outlaw gang. They beat a road police officer who wants to give them a parking ticket. Although the sheriff tries to calm everybody down, things are not going down well. Very soon Mike faces big trouble when Speed, one of his gang members, is stopped on fake possession charges and murdered on retaliation. The trouble intensifies when an all-out cop against biker war breaks out.
Director
Red Line 7000 (1965)
, 1h50Directed by Howard Hawks
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Comedy-drama, Action
Themes Sports films, Transport films, Films about automobiles, Auto racing films, Road movies, La NASCAR
Actors James Caan, Laura Devon, Charlene Holt, Marianna Hill, Teri Garr, Christian Brückner
Roles Second Unit Director
Rating56%
A racing team run by Pat Kazarian starts out with two drivers, Mike Marsh and Jim Loomis, but a crash at Daytona results in Jim's death. His girlfriend Holly McGregor arrives too late for the race and feels guilty for not being there.