Stuart Rosenberg, the television and film director whose best work was with Paul Newman (Cool Hand Luke,The Drowning Pool), died of a heart attack on March 15 at his Beverly Hills home. He was 79.

He was born on August 11, 1927, in Brooklyn, New York, and was a literature major at New York University. While in New York, he got into television as an editor, then worked his way up as a director for various hit shows in the late '50s and early '60s. His work on Naked City, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Untouchables, and The Twilight Zone were notable for the slick pacing and tough dramatics of his episodes. He made one of the first television movies, the excellent Fame Is the Name of the Game (1966), and from there, he made his directorial debut with Cool Hand Luke (1967). That film, which starred Paul Newman as a tough convict who refuses to cave in to the pressures of a sadistic warden (memorably played by Strother Martin) and becomes a heroic figure to his fellow inmates, was one of the biggest box-office hits of the year, and earned Rosenberg much acclaim.

Afterwards, Rosenberg's output varied occasionally in quality, but he was a solid craftsman with a gift for tempo. Among his film credits are Pocket Money (1972), The Laughing Policeman (1973), The Drowning Pool (1975), Voyage of the Damned (1976), Brubaker (1980), The Pope of Greenwich Village (1984).

After Rosenberg made his last film, the mild family drama, My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys (1991), he taught at the American Film Institute before going into retirement in the late '90s. He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Margot; son, Benjamin; and four grandchildren.

by Michael T. Toole