Ted Wilde is the youngest Best Comedy Director to pass away at 40. Singleton would technically be the youngest Best Director nominee, followed by Truffaut at 52, Schertzinger and W.S. Van Dyke at 53, Kieslowski and Minghella at 54, and Lubitsch at 55.Precious Doll wrote:And Krzysztof Kieslowski at 54.Precious Doll wrote:Ernst Lubitsch follows at 55.Heksagon wrote:John Singleton's career was the most extreme example of starting at the top and making his way to the bottom that I can think in Hollywood, at least in recent decades. I wonder if there is now going to be some effort to re-evaluate some of his less successful work.
The youngest Best Director nominee is also one of the youngest ones to die. The only one who died younger than Singleton, that I can find, was Ted Wilde, who died a day after his 40th birthday.
The youngest ones after Singleton, that I can find, are Francois Truffaut (52), Victor Schertzinger (53) and Anthony Minghella (54)
Robert Rossen, John Farrow, Hal Ashby, John Cassavetes, Victor Fleming, and Gregory La Cava were all under 60.
Michael Anderson had the longest life of any Best Director nominee, living to 98. The oldest living nominee is Norman Jewison at 92. The youngest is Damien Chazzelle.