Filmmaker Robert M. Fresco dies at 83

Filmmaker Robert M. Fresco has lost his battle with cancer at the age of 83. The Oscar winner passed away in Manhattan, New York on St. Valentine’s Day (14Feb14), according to the New York Times.
Fresco began his career in the 1950s writing B-rated horror movies including Tarantula, The Monolith Monsters and The Alligator People.
He also worked as a writer on several TV shows including Bonanza, Wagon Train and Science Fiction Theater, and produced a 1972 adaptation of Lorraine Hansberry’s To Be Young, Gifted and Black, which starred Ruby Dee and Blythe Danner.
In addition to his work in TV and film, Fresco also made documentaries.
In 1970, he won an Oscar for Best Documentary, Short Subjects for Czechoslovakia 1968, which chronicled 50 years of Czech history.
He was also known for his documentary on the Black Panther Party criminal case titled Trial: The City and County of Denver vs. Lauren R. Watson.