Robert Aldrich, (born August 9, 1918, Cranston, Rhode Island, U.S.) is an American director who earned his reputation with realistic and socially conscious films that were often marked by violence. His notable movies include the classics What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962) and The Dirty Dozen (1967).
After graduating (1941) from the University of Virginia, he took a job at RKO as a production clerk. Soon he was assisting Edward Dmytryk, among others, on B-films for the studio. In 1945 he began freelancing as an assistant director, and he later worked for such notables as Lewis Milestone, William Wellman, Jean Renoir, Robert Rossen, and Charlie Chaplin. Aldrich then gravitated to television, directing episodes of The Doctor and Four Star Playhouse.
The box-office success of his early work enabled Aldrich to form his own production company, and in 1955 its first film, The Big Knife, was released. In 1967 Aldrich directed perhaps his best-known film, The Dirty Dozen which became one of the biggest hits of the decade and is generally considered a classic.
