Amos Poe, the New York underground filmmaker who captured the city’s punk scene and directed films such as «Blank Generation» and «Alphabet City,» has died at the age of 76 after a battle with cancer.
His wife Claudia Summers shared the news on Poe’s Instagram account on December 25, writing,
«Amos took his last breath today at 3:33 pm, surrounded by loved ones. ‘Adios’ — AP.»
His 1976 film «Blank Generation,» co-directed with guitarist Ivan Kral, was among the first to document New York’s punk rock movement. Filmed partly at CBGB, it included appearances by Patti Smith, Talking Heads, Television, Richard Hell and Wayne County. Following a dispute, Kral reedited «Blank Generation» and several of Poe’s other films, removing Poe’s credit.
«I’m trying to be grown up about it. But they’re trying to rewrite history,» Poe told The New York Times.
As the No Wave music movement emerged, Poe helped pioneer No Wave filmmaking, directing works including «The Foreigner» with Debbie Harry and «Subway Riders» with Susan Tyrell, Robbie Coltrane and Cookie Mueller.
«Our whole esthetic, or the way we approached it, was that you didn’t necessarily have to have the professionalism or the understanding of making films, you had to have the inspiration and the will to put yourself completely into it,» he told Reuters in 2011.
Poe also directed music videos for acts including Anthrax and Run-DMC, and produced the public access TV show «TV Party,» hosted by Blondie’s Chris Stein and Glenn O’Brien.
