MASH director was 81

He passed away in a Los Angeles hospital on Monday, his production company has announced. The cause of death was not disclosed.

Altman was nominated for the best director Oscar five times, but never won it until he was given an honorary award this year for ‘a career that has repeatedly reinvented the art form’

‘No other film-maker has gotten a better shake than I have,’ he said while accepting the award. ‘I'm very fortunate in my career.’

The bleak comedy MASH was Altman's breakthrough movie after years of directing television, commercials and dud films.

In an interview about it, he once said: ‘Our mandate was bad taste. If anybody had a joke in the worst taste, it had a better chance of getting into the film, because nothing was in worse taste than that war itself.’

But Altman was always dismissive of the long-running sitcom it spawned. ‘They made millions and millions of dollars by bringing an Asian war into Americans' homes every Sunday night,’ he said. ‘I thought that was the worst taste.’

His other films included Gosford Park and Popeye, starring Robin Williams, which was trashed by critics.

Alman had a heart transplant a decade ago, but kept it secret until winning his Oscar this year.

Published: 21 Nov 2006