- Born
- Died
- Birth nameRobert Joseph Flaherty
- Robert J. Flaherty was born on February 16, 1884 in Iron Mountain, Michigan, USA. He was a director and writer, known for Louisiana Story (1948), Man of Aran (1934) and Elephant Boy (1937). He was married to Frances H. Flaherty. He died on July 23, 1951 in Brattleboro, Vermont, USA.
- SpouseFrances H. Flaherty(1914 - July 23, 1951) (his death, 3 children)
- ChildrenJosephie Flaherty
- RelativesPeter Flaherty(Grandchild)Mary Flaherty(Grandchild)Martha Flaherty(Grandchild)Sami van Ingen(Great Grandchild)Johnny Flaherty(Grandchild)Andrea Flaherty(Great Grandchild)William Flaherty(Grandchild)Jamie Flaherty(Grandchild)
- An explorer for Sir William Mackenzie's Canadian railroad, he mined for ore and mapped areas in Hudson Bay, and founded Flaherty Island in the Belcher archipelago, some 70 km long and 40 km wide.
- Tells the story of his making of his documentary Nanook of the North (1922) in his book "My Eskimo Friends" (1924).
- Upon his death in 1951, poet E.E. Cummings called him "a god among man," and Orson Welles compared him to Henry David Thoreau and Walt Whitman, describing him as "one of the two or three greatest people who ever worked in the medium.".
- His documentary Nanook of the North (1922) was sponsored by French fur company Revillon Freres, which provided $50,000 for Flaherty's 16-month expedition halfway to the North Pole. Depsite being rejected by five distributors, the film opened in New York City in 1922, after its success in Paris and Berlin, and grossed well over $40,000 in its first week.
- Though he had traveled the world, his home in Vermont, Black Mountain Farm, had a Celtic motto above the fireplace meaning "Wander No More."
- A film is the longest distance between two points.
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