John Michael Frankenheimer was born on February 19, 1930, at Malba, New York. His parents, Walter and Mary Sheedy Frankenheimer, sent him to Foxwood School and LaSalle Military Academy; and in 1951 he graduated from Williams College.
During 1951 Frankenheimer began his career in the field of mass media in Washington D.C. He joined the city's American Theatre Wing for its production of The Moon Is Blue and both acted and directed at WTOP-TV, the CBS channel in the nation's capital. During the Korean conflict he enlarged his professional experience by serving as a second lieutenant for the armed forces photographic service at Burbank, California. After his release from service, he rejoined CBS. At first he worked with the Garry Moore Show and the Edward R. Morrow series. Later he became assistant director and director of Person to Person, You Are There, Danger, Mama, Climax, Studio One, and Playhouse 90.
As a free lance TV director in 1959, John Frankenheimer worked with the Browning Version and Ingrid Bergman in Turn of the Screw. In that same year he also directed the Broadway show Midnight Sun. His film credits include Young Savages, Birdman of Alcatraz, All Fall Down, and The Manchurian Candidate.
In 1959 Frankenheimer received the Brotherhood Award. Previously, he had earned an Emmy for The Comedians, the Locarno Festival prize for the Best Film Director of 1955, and the 1954 Christopher Award. He was a member of the Director's Guild, the Civil Liberties Union, and the Democratic Party.
John Frankenheimer died of a stroke following back surgery on July 6, 2002, in Los Angeles, California, .
