Jonathan Kaplan (November 25, 1947 – August 1, 2025) was an American film producer and director. His film The Accused (1988) earned actress Jodie Foster the Oscar for Best Actress and was nominated for the Golden Bear at the 39th Berlin International Film Festival. His film Love Field (1992) earned actress Michelle Pfeiffer an Oscar nomination for Best Actress and was nominated for the Golden Bear at the 43rd Berlin International Film Festival. Kaplan received five Emmy nominations for his roles directing and producing the television series ER.
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Background
Born in Paris, Kaplan was the son of film composer Sol Kaplan and actress Frances Heflin, the nephew of actor Van Heflin, and the brother of actresses Nora Heflin and Mady Kaplan. His cousin was actress Marta Heflin. He lived in Hollywood, Los Angeles until 1954, when his father had to move to New York City after being blacklisted.
Career
Kaplan started his career as a child actor in the Broadway production of The Dark at the Top of the Stairs directed by Elia Kazan. He was in a 1964 off-Broadway production Rumplestiltskin directed by Elaine May.
He earned a AB degree at the University of Chicago before studying film at New York University in Manhattan where he was tutored by Martin Scorsese and made an award-winning short film, Stanley (1965). Kaplan was working at the Fillmore East on the Lower East Side, doing some editing on the side, when Roger Corman offered him the opportunity to direct Night Call Nurses (1972); Kaplan had been recommended by Scorsese. Kaplan made the movie and returned to New York City. It was a hit, and Corman offered him another film, The Student Teachers (1973), which he also co-wrote and co-edited.
