Peter Davis

Director · Producer · Writer

Santa Monica, California, U.S.

January 2, 1937

Biography

Peter Frank Davis (born January 2, 1937) is an American documentary filmmaker, journalist, and author best known for Hearts and Minds (1974), his Academy Award–winning film examining American involvement in the Vietnam War. Born in Santa Monica, California, to screenwriters Frank Davis and Tess Slesinger, Davis graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University in 1957 and began his career in journalism, working briefly for The New York Times before moving into television documentary production. In the 1960s and early 1970s, Davis worked at CBS News, where he produced and directed investigative documentaries on subjects including poverty, racism, student unrest, and U.S. military policy. His 1971 film The Selling of the Pentagon won a Peabody Award. After leaving CBS, he directed Hearts and Minds, which won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature and became a landmark work of Vietnam War–era filmmaking. Davis later created the Middletown series for PBS, produced the Emmy-winning film JACK (1993) with his son Nick Davis, and continued to write and produce nonfiction work. He is also the author of several books, including Hometown, Where Is Nicaragua?, and If You Came This Way.