Peter Medak, Director of ‘The Changeling’ and ‘The Krays,’ Dies at 88

Peter Medak, the Hungarian-born director and actor best known for films including “The Changeling,” “The Krays” and “The Ruling Class” died Tuesday in Los Angeles. He was 88.

Over a career spanning six decades, Medak directed 27 feature films, moving between psychological horror, black comedy and crime dramas. His 1980 supernatural thriller “The Changeling,” starring George C. Scott, won eight Genie Awards including best motion picture. He also directed the 1990 British gangster drama “The Krays,” for which he received the Evening Standard Award for best director.

Born in Budapest in 1937, Medak spent part of World War II in hiding with his family. 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 and began working in the British film industry, eventually serving as assistant director before moving to Hollywood.

He made his feature directorial debut with 1968’s “Negatives,” starring Glenda Jackson. His 1972 satire “The Ruling Class,” starring Peter O’ Toole, competed for the Palme d’Or at Cannes and earned an Oscar nomination for Toole. Other credits include “A Day in the Death of Joe Egg,” “Let Him Have It” and the Gary Oldman-led “Romeo Is Bleeding.”

Medak also worked extensively in television, directing episodes of “Homocide: Life on the Street,” “The Wire,” “Breaking Bad” and “House.” His 2018 documentary “The Ghost of Peter Sellars” revisited his troubled production of the 1970s comedy “Ghost in the Noonday Sun.”

He is survived by his four children, Christopher, Joshua, Karen and Cornela, and five grandchildren.