MUMBAI: Filmmaker Bud Greenspan, whose inspirational portraits of Olympic athletes became a trademark of the Games, died at his home in New York on Saturday from complications of Parkinson‘s disease. He was 84.
Over the years, Greenspan never lost focus on the most inspirational stories of athletes, even as controversies over politics, performance-enhancing drugs and commercialism increasingly vied for attention.
His best-known work was The Olympiad, the culmination of 10 years of research, more than 3 million feet of rare, archival film, hundreds of interviews and visits to more than 30 nations. The 10-part series he produced was aired in more than 80 countries.
In an interview with ESPN.com a decade ago, Greenspan admitted he took a different approach than most of his colleagues.
"I spend my time on about the 99 per cent of what‘s good about the Olympics and most people spend 100 per cent of their time on the one per cent that‘s negative," he said. "I‘ve been criticized for seeing things through rose-colored glasses, but the percentages are with me."
Greenspan received lifetime achievement awards from the DGA and the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences as well as a Peabody and the Olympic Order award.
