Noel Black (June 30, 1937 – July 5, 2014) was an American film and television director, screenwriter, and producer. Black was born in Chicago, Illinois. He won awards at the 1966 Cannes Film Festival for an 18-minute short subject filmed in 1965 called Skaterdater. It had no dialogue, but used music and sound effects to advance the plot. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film in 1966. He directed the 1968 cult film Pretty Poison, and subsequently concentrated on directing for television, occasionally directing films such as Private School. As a screenwriter, he wrote the 1985 coming-of-age comedy Mischief, set in the 1950s. Black died of bacterial pneumonia in Santa Barbara, California on July 5, 2014. He was 77. Early life and education Black was born in Chicago on June 30, 1937. He received bachelor's and master's degrees in film from the University of California, Los Angeles. Career Black was under the influence of the French New Wave. "I longed to be the American Godard and Truffaut", he said. "I had the best intentions, but the reality of the American film business kicked in. After I left UCLA, I was determined to storm the Bastille by making my way into the industry with a short film." Skaterdater Black wrote and directed the 17-18 minute film, Skaterdater (1965), which had no dialogue and was set in California. The short film was about a group of teenage boy skateboarders as well as the romance between one of them and a girl on a bicycle. Black raised $17,000 to make Skaterdater, which was shot with car and tricycle-mounted cameras. United Artists bought the short film for $50,000. The short film garnered the Palme d'Or for Best Short Film at the 1966 Cannes Film Festival as well as a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film at the 38th Oscar Ceremony (which it lost to Claude Berri's Le Poulet). Skaterdater drew the attention of executives at 20th Century Fox, who hired Black to direct Pretty Poison. "I didn’t begrudge UA the thousands they made from the short," Black commented. "It led to 20th Century-Fox giving me the chance to make Pretty Poison, on which I was given fairly free rein." Pretty Poison Black's directorial debut was Pretty Poison (1968), a black comedy film which starred Anthony Perkins and Tuesday Weld. The screenplay was written