An American director and screenwriter, born on February 20, 1925, in Kansas City, Missouri. He graduated from Wentworth Military Academy in 1943. At the age of 18, Altman joined the US Air Force during the outbreak of World War II, and after his discharge from the army, he tried to enter the field of cinema with an uncredited role in The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947), in addition to writing the lyrics for songs on Broadway shows. At about the same time, he co-wrote the movie Bodyguard (1948). Altman then turned to making educational and documentary films, then he directed an episode of the series The Pulse of the City. He directed his first feature film The Delinquents (1957). Robert Altman dies on November 11, 2006 in Los Angeles.