Director Peter Medak, Creator of 'The Changeling,' Dead in LA

Peter Medak, the director and actor who helmed the horror hit 'The Changeling' and the crime drama 'The Krays,' has died in Los Angeles. He was 88.

Medak passed away on Tuesday. His career spanned six decades and included 27 feature films. He moved between psychological horror, black comedy and crime drama, creating a body of work that defied simple genre labels.

His 1980 supernatural thriller 'The Changeling,' which starred George C. Scott, collected eight Genie Awards, including best motion picture. A decade later, he directed 'The Krays.' That 1990 British gangster film earned him the Evening Standard Award for best director.

Born in Budapest in 1937, Medak spent part of World War II in hiding. Under Hungary's Communist regime, his father was imprisoned and Medak was barred from attending school. He fled to England during the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. In Britain, he worked as an assistant director before relocating to Hollywood. His first feature as director was 'Negatives' in 1968, starring Glenda Jackson.

His 1972 satire 'The Ruling Class' starred Peter O'Toole. The film competed for the Palme d'Or at Cannes and earned O'Toole an Oscar nomination. Other credits include 'A Day in the Death of Joe Egg,' 'Let Him Have It' and 'Romeo Is Bleeding,' the latter led by Gary Oldman. Medak also directed episodes of 'Homicide: Life on the Street,' 'The Wire,' 'Breaking Bad' and 'House.' He released the documentary 'The Ghost of Peter Sellers' in 2018. Medak is survived by his four children, Christopher, Joshua, Karen and Cornela, and five grandchildren.