David Maysles

David Maysles (January 10, 1931 to January 3, 1987) was an American documentary filmmaker who worked as the younger half of the Maysles brothers, alongside Albert Maysles. David served as sound recordist while Albert filmed, and together they became central figures in the Direct Cinema movement, the observational, unnarrated approach to nonfiction filmmaking that emerged in the United States in the 1960s. Their collaborative works include Salesman (1969), Gimme Shelter (1970), and Grey Gardens (1975). Before turning to documentary work, David had worked as a production assistant on Hollywood films in the mid 1950s, later describing his disillusionment with conventional studio filming as part of what drew him toward the direct, unstaged style the brothers pioneered. David died of a stroke in New York City in January 1987, seven days short of his 56th birthday.