That Cold Day in the Park

After his stint in the US Armed Forces as a fighter pilot during the last years of WWII where he chalked up more than 50 bombing missions, Robert Altman spent twenty years writing scripts, directing industrials and episodic television, first in Kansas City and then in Hollywood. Success came late in his career – he was 45 when he won the Palme d’Or for M*A*S*H* in 1969, his greatest works still ahead of him.