George Armitage, Director of ‘Grosse Pointe Blank,’ Dies at 82

George Armitage, the film director best known for the 1996 crime thriller/comedy “Grosse Pointe Blank” and the 1990 neo-noir “Miami Blues,” died Saturday, his son announced Friday. He was 82; no cause of death was made public.

Born in Hartford, Connecticut in 1942, Armitage moved with his mother to Beverly Hills at age 13 and attended UCLA. He began his career in entertainment working in the mail room at 20th Century Fox and, rising quickly, became an associate producer on “Peyton Place” in 1966 when he was still only 23 years old.

He made the jump to films later in the decade, writing the script for the 1970 Roger Corman film “Gas-s-s-s” before making his directorial debut with “Private Duty Nurses” the same year. He wrote the script for a sequel, “Night Call Nurses” in 1972 and that same year also wrote and directed “Hit Man” starring Bernie Casey.

Other films he wrote and directed include “Vigilante Force” in 1976 and “Miami Blues” in 1990. “Grosse Pointe Blank,” starring John Cusack and Minnie Driver and following the story of a professional killer going to his high school reunion, was a modest hit when it was released in 1996 and is considered a cult classic. His final directorial film was “The Big Bounce” in 2004.

He was survived by his wife of 62 years, Sharon, their children and grandchildren.

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