On March 7, 1999 the film industry lost a genius when Stanley Kurbick passed away in his sleep in England. Kurbick was known as a perfectionist and was responsible for creating such classics as "2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)" and "Clockwork Orange (1971)". Even though he shocked the sensibilities of the critics, his work continued to portray his view and set standards by which others were compared. In "2001" he set the standard for special effects and in " Lolita" he forged ahead knowing full well critics would not appreciate his artistic representation of Vladimir Nabokov's notorious novel.

Kubrick was born July 26, 1928 in New York Bronx to a middle class family. He began his artistic career when his physician father bought him a camera at the age of thirteen. At the age of sixteen he began working for "Look" magazine as a freelance photographer, a job he held until the age of 21 when he quit to pursue a filmmaker career. Kurbrick's first project was made using his entire savings and based on a project he had just completed for "Look" on boxing. "Called Day of the Fight (1951)" the film was based on fighter Walter Cartier. Kurbrick, who was taught to use the equipment by the man he rented it from, acted as director, cinematographer, editor, and sound man for the project which he sold to RKO for $4000. Forging ahead he then made his second film "The Flying Padre" and his third film " The Seafarers (1953)". Encouraged by the relative success, which meant at this time breaking even, he quit his day job and pursued a career as a filmmaker full time.

Though Kubrick's list of credits is relatively short for a man who has spent years in the industry, he was considered one of the greatest directors by his fellow directors and producers. Kurbrick died the day he finished the final cut of his last project "Eyes Wide Shut" staring Tom Cruise and Nichol Kidman. The film was released in July of 1999 and was number one in the box office. He and Speilburg had been discussing a project, which due to Kurbrick's sudden death was cancelled. Terry Semel was reported by The LA Times as saying "He went to sleep with a big smile on his face. He had finished everything." Semel was referring to the night Kurbrick died. His final project was proclaimed a masterpiece and brought critical acclaim to its stars, and being as it was the first project after ten years, proved that Kurbrick hadn't lost his touch.

Kurbrick was survived by his third wife Susanne Christiane Harlan Kubrick and his daughters Abigail (a music composer) and Anya (an Opera Singer). He is missed by his fans and colleagues.