Kieth W. Merrill | |
---|---|
Born | Farmington, Utah, U.S. | May 22, 1940
Occupation | Filmmaker |
Education | Bachelor of Arts |
Alma mater | Brigham Young University |
Genres |
|
Years active | 1973–present |
Notable works | The Great American Cowboy (1973) The Wild West (1993) Amazon (1997) Various films for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints |
Notable awards | Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film (1973) |
Kieth W. Merrill [1] (born May 22, 1940) [2] is an American filmmaker who has worked as a writer, director, and producer in the film industry since 1967. He is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the Directors Guild of America, and received an Academy Award for The Great American Cowboy (1973) and a nomination for Amazon (1997).
He published a novel, The Evolution of Thomas Hall, through Shadow Mountain in 2011. His first fantasy novel, The Immortal Crown, was published by Shadow Mountain in 2016.
The son of artist/landscape architect David Merrill and playwright/actress Leola Green Merrill, Kieth Merrill was born and raised in Farmington, Utah, a small, pioneer-founded town 20 miles north of Salt Lake City. [3]
As an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he served as a missionary for the church in Denmark for two-and-a-half years. [4] [5]
Merrill graduated in 1967 with a bachelor's degree from Brigham Young University (BYU). He is married to Dagny Johnson, and they are the parents of eight children. They reside in Northern California. [3] Merrill was commissioned by the LDS Church's First Presidency to produce the films Legacy and The Testaments for the state-of-the-art 70 mm Legacy Theater at Temple Square in Salt Lake City.[ citation needed ]
Merrill has been a member of the Board of Trustees of Southern Virginia University and president of the BYU Alumni Association. He received the Franklin S. Harris Fine Arts Award from BYU [6] when he delivered the commencement address to the BYU College of Fine Arts and Communications in 2007. [7]
In 2021, his refusal to watch Never Rarely Sometimes Always for Academy Awards consideration as a voting member garnered some attention. [8]
Merrill has done work in various formats, including IMAX and 70mm. He has created feature films, documentaries, television commercials, and miniseries. [9] [10]
Brigham Young University is a private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Richard Alan Dutcher is an American independent filmmaker who produces, writes, directs, edits, and frequently stars in his films. After making God's Army, a successful 2000 movie about LDS missionaries, Dutcher became well known among members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Film critic Jeff Vice, of the Deseret News, dubbed Dutcher "The Godfather of Mormon Cinema," a title that is very important personally for Dutcher. In 2007, Dutcher left the LDS Church.
Reed P. Smoot A.S.C. is a United States cinematographer associated with many successful IMAX documentaries and theme park rides. He also did the cinematography for The Great American Cowboy, which won the 1973 Academy Award for best documentary feature.
Sam Cardon is a composer whose credits include 15 large-format films: Titans Of The Ice Age, Mummies, Mystic India, Texas, The Big Picture, Forces Of Nature, Lewis and Clark, The Legendary Journeys, Shackleton's Antarctic Adventure, Mysteries of Egypt, Olympic Glory, Whales, Building the Dream at Hearst Castle in San Simeon, California; Treasure of the Gods at Zion National Park, Utah and The Secret of San Francisco at Pier 39.
BYU Vocal Point, or simply Vocal Point, is a seven to nine-member, male a cappella group at Brigham Young University (BYU). Founded by two students, Bob Ahlander & Dave Boyce, in 1991, Vocal Point is under the direction of former member Carson Trautman.
Merrill Joseph Bateman is an American religious leader who served as the 11th president of Brigham Young University (BYU) from 1996 to 2003. He is an emeritus general authority of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and served as the LDS Church's 12th presiding bishop in 1994 and 1995. Bateman served as the Sunday School General President of the LDS Church from 2003 to 2004, a member of the Church's Presidency of the Seventy from 2003 to 2007, and the president of the Provo Utah Temple from 2007 to 2010.
Merrill Boyd Jenson is an American composer and arranger who has composed film scores for over thirty films including Emma Smith: My Story, Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration, The Testaments of One Fold and One Shepherd, Legacy, Harry's War, and Windwalker. Many of the films Jenson composed music for were directed by Academy Award-winning director Kieth Merrill. Jenson has also composed several concert productions including a symphony that premiered at Carnegie Hall. Additionally, he has composed music for many television commercials including the acclaimed Homefront ads, music for three outdoor pageants, and several albums. Jenson lives in Provo, Utah with his wife Betsy Lee Jenson.
The Great American Cowboy is a 1973 documentary film about the sport of rodeo. The film, which was directed by Kieth Merrill, is notable for its use of experimental editing and camera techniques. The film focuses on the 1973 battle for the Rodeo Cowboys Association (RCA) all-around world championship race between seasoned veteran rodeo star Larry Mahan and more recent champion Phil Lyne. Voiceover narration is provided by Hollywood actor Joel McCrea. The film won the 1974 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.
The choirs at Brigham Young University (BYU) consist of four auditioned groups: BYU Singers, BYU Concert Choir, BYU Men's Chorus, and BYU Women's Chorus. Each choir is highly accomplished and performs from an extensive repertoire. Together, the choirs have recorded and released over 30 albums. The choirs perform frequently throughout the academic year, both as individual ensembles as well as a combined group.
The Bronze Wrangler is an award presented annually by the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum to honor the top works in Western music, film, television and literature.
Rosalind Hall is a former director of the Men's Chorus and Concert Choir at Brigham Young University (BYU). In 2020, Hall retired after over 20 years in that role.
Scot Facer Proctor and Maurine Jensen Proctor are the founders of the Latter-day Saint oriented website Meridian Magazine. They have also issued a revised edition of Lucy Mack Smith's history of Joseph Smith which reintroduces material from Lucy's 1845 manuscript that was removed before Lucy's history was originally published. This version of Lucy's history is cited by such scholars such as Susan Easton Black and Craig J. Ostler. The Proctors' work is also among those cited in the bibliography to Scott R. Petersen's 2005 book Where Have All The Prophets Gone. The Proctors have also published a new edition of the Autobiography of Parley Parker Pratt.
Thomas C. Christensen is an American cinematographer, film director, and writer best known for his work on films related to the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, including Joseph Smith: The Prophet of the Restoration, Gordon B. Hinckley: A Giant Among Men, 17 Miracles, and Ephraim's Rescue. He has made films about the Martin and Willie handcart companies who traversed the plains toward the Salt Lake Valley in late 1856. Christensen is also a member of the American Society of Cinematographers.
Alan Gerald Cherry is an African American who in the 1960s joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints against opposition. He was inspired by the American civil rights movement.
Robert Theodore Barrett is an American painter, illustrator, and professor of illustration at Brigham Young University. His illustrated works include The Story of the Walnut Tree, Silent Night, Holy Night: The Story of the Christmas Truce, and The Nauvoo Temple Stone. He illustrated a book about President Barack Obama, entitled Obama: Only in America (2010), written by Carole Boston Weatherford.
Eric Roy Samuelsen was an American playwright and emeritus professor of theatre at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. He is considered one of the most important Mormon playwrights, and has been called a Mormon Charles Dickens or Henrik Ibsen. He won the Association for Mormon Letters (AML) drama award in 1994, 1997, and 1999, and was AML president from 2007 to 2009. In 2012 he received the Smith–Pettit Foundation Award for Outstanding Contribution to Mormon Letters.
BYU has a broad array of bands and ensembles. Most of which are a part of the programs of the School of Music in the BYU College of Fine Arts and Communications, primarily either in the Department of Bands or the Jazz Studies Department.
BYU Center for Animation is an American animation school at Brigham Young University (BYU). The program is a leading university animation program in the United States and has collected 11 student Emmys.
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