Biography
New York native Jerry Schatzberg began his career as a fashion photographer, working as an assistant to Bill Helburn in the mid-1950s before branching out on his own in the late 50s and 60s. While working freelance, he also began to helm TV commercials and gradually moved to the silver screen, debuting with 1970's "Puzzle of a Downfall Child." A confusing drama about a fashion model trying to come to terms with her life, "Puzzle" starred Faye Dunaway, with whom Schatzberg had been romantically linked. Critics were dismissive of the film and its confounding structure, but the director hit pay dirt with his sophomore effort, the gripping "Panic in Needle Park" (1971). Focusing on the downward spiral into drugs of a petty crook (Al Pacino) and his girlfriend (Kitty Winn), "Panic in Needle Park" received plaudits for its unsparing look at the effects of drug use (in this case heroin) and for its dynamic leading performances. (Winn received the Cannes Film Festival Best Actress Award.)
