Ken Wlaschin ’56

Ken Wlaschin ’56 died November 10, 2009, at his home in Palm Springs, California, after a short illness. A native of Nebraska and a graduate of Dartmouth, Ken pursued studies at University College in Dublin, where he met Maureen Kennedy Martin, whom he married in 1961 after serving in the U.S. Army Counter-Intelligence Corps. During the 1960s he worked as arts editor and critic for the Rome Daily American, a columnist for the London Daily Sketch and drama series editor for London Weekend Television. He also appeared in two films, The Tramplers with Joseph Cotten and Mo. He became program director of the National Film Theater and the London Film Festival in 1969 and ran the latter until 1984, the longest tenure of anyone in that job. He returned to the United States to take over as interim director of Filmex. Once it was reborn as the Los Angeles International Film Festival, Ken brought his internationalist perspective to that event until 1993, during which time he also worked as director of the National Film Theater at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. For the subsequent decade he remained at the American Film Institute as director of creative affairs and vice chairman of the National Center for Film and Video Preservation. Ken wrote or edited 20 books, mostly on film or music subjects. He was decorated by the governments of France, Italy and Great Britain for his services to cinema. He is survived by his wife, son, two sisters, brother and half-brother.