Biography of Bud Greenspan

To some he is the poet laureate of the Olympics, and the “Official Keeper of the Olympic Flame.” To others, he is the man with the bald pate and trademark glasses … a constant presence at every Olympic Games for the past four decades. With an exceptional gift for personal storytelling, a matchless eye for camera angle and location, and above all, a complete and total commitment to truth, Bud Greenspan has magically captured all that is good in the Olympic Games for nearly 40 years.

Greenspan has been called the foremost writer, producer and director of sports films and one of the world’s leading sports historians. He has been bestowed with virtually every accolade a filmmaker can receive: six Emmy Awards; the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Director’s Guild of America; and a Peabody Award America’s highest honor paid to film and television producers. His film credits are numerous, including five Olympic Official Films: 16 Days of Glory/ Los Angeles (1984); Calgary (1988); Lillehammer (1994); Atlanta’s Olympic Glory (1996); and Nagano ‘98 Olympics: Stories of Honor and Glory (1998).

Other productions include Triumph and Tragedy: The 1972 Munich Games; The Measure of Greatness, about timing at the Olympics; Jesse Owens Returns to Berlin; and Time Capsule: The 1936 Berlin Olympic Games.

His Olympic Dream followed teenaged athletes from around the world as they trained for the 1988 Seoul Olympics, and his critically acclaimed motion picture-for-television Wilma, based on the life of American Wilma Rudolph, was among the highest rated films of the 1977 season. Just like the Olympics, Bud Greenspan’s cinematic vision is deeply rooted in classicism…the belief that good storytelling along with powerful imagery will always endure over the sensational and often superficial world of television today.

The words of IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch perhaps best express what Bud Greenspan means to the Olympic movement: “For more than four decades Bud Greenspan has chronicled the history of the Olympic movement…keeping alive the flame of Olympism for thousands of athletes and millions of spectators today and for future generations.

“He has created intimate portrayals of young men and women as athletes, and more importantly as human beings who strive to overcome personal challenges, bringing honour to themselves, their country and most importantly, honour to us all.

“It was in the city of Rome in 1985, after the premiere showing of his film 16 Days of Glory / Los Angeles, his five-hour Official Film of the 1984 Olympics, that I presented to Bud Greenspan the Olympic Order for his outstanding achievements and service to the Olympic Movement. “Mr. Greenspan has been called the foremost producer, writer and director of Olympic films; more than that, he is an everlasting friend of the Olympic family.”