August 28, 1987

On this date in 1987, Director John Huston passed away from pneumonia at the age of 81. Huston, whose father Walter Huston was of Irish descent, began his career as a writer and eventually got a contract with Samuel Goldwyn Productions as a script editor. As a director, Huston’s first big hit was 1941’s “The Maltese Falcon.” After visiting Ireland, Huston became an Irish citizen in 1964 and sent his daughter, actress Anjelica, to be educated at Kylemore Abbey. Huston also directed an adaptation of James Joyce’s “The Dead” in 1987. It was his last film.