Maysles, Albert

Maysles, Albert film directors; born in Brookline, Mass. After military service, Albert taught at Boston University, making his first documentary, Psychiatry in Russia, in 1955. David, after military service, worked as the assistant to the producer of Bus Stop (1956) and The Prince and the Showgirl (1957). They began collaborating on documentaries in 1957, and became famous for their cinéma vérité techniques (which they called "direct cinema"). Their best films have been Salesman (1969, about a Bible salesman), Gimme Shelter (1970, about the Rolling Stones), and Grey Gardens (1975, about an eccentric elderly lady and her daughter). They also turned out industrial and promotional movies, and Albert worked as a cameraman on many documentaries of other filmmakers.