HARLEM — Albert Maysles, a documentary filmmaker and founder of the Maysles Cinema, died Thursday night after brief battle with cancer, his family said.
Maysles, 88, and his brother are known for directing groundbreaking documentaries like “Grey Gardens,” and “Gimme Shelter.”
“Albert was a loving husband, father, brother as well as a friend to many," the Maysles family said in a statement. "For more than five decades, Albert created groundbreaking films, inspired filmmakers and touched all those with his humanity, presence and his belief in the power of love.”
In 2006, he founded the Maysles Cinema on Lenox Avenue and 127th Street to promote filmmaking in the community. It is the only independent theater north of Lincoln Center, according to their website.
Maysles was a fixture at the theater, which hosts many community events. The director was passionate about helping other filmmakers develop their craft, said Stacy Farrar, the cinema’s director of marketing.
“He was here every single day, he was part of our classes, he would to Q&As, he was extremely involved,” she said. “He was making films until the very end.”
Maysles lived on 122nd Street and was often seen wearing his signature glasses as he walked along Lenox Avenue on his way to the cinema, said Laurent Delly.
"He never felt too important to give someone his attention," said Delly, who met Maysles several years ago. "He was very well respected in the neighborhood."
His latest documentary “In Transit,” about Amtrak’s Empire Builder train, which goes from Seattle to Chicago, is scheduled to premier at the Tribeca Film Festival next month, Farrar said.
In July 2014, President Barack Obama presented Maysles wit the National Medal of Arts.
Maysles’ honors also include two Peabody awards, three Emmys, six Lifetime Achievement Awards and a Columbia DuPont.
