James Foley

James Foley, a film, television and music video director best known for the Al Pacino-led black comedy "Glengarry Glen Ross," died May 6, 2025, of brain cancer at his home in Los Angeles at the age of 71.

Foley's 1992 adaptation of the David Mamet play, "Glengarry Glen Ross," all but died at the box office despite being led by stars like Al Pacino, Jack Lemmon, Alec Baldwin, and Ed Harris. Over the years, however, it came to be considered a cult classic, a daring black comedy that earned Pacino an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor despite flopping with audiences. The "Always Be Closing" speech by Alec Baldwin's Blake character has become one of the best known in modern cinema, and the film is now widely seen as a lost gem. Foley's other work included 12 episodes of the show "House of Cards;" the noir thriller "After Dark, My Sweet," which Roger Ebert considered one of the great films; the Sean Penn and Christopher Walken-led thriller "At Close Range;" and an array of music videos for pop icon Madonna, among other work.

Writer Christopher Heard called him "a terrific director who many probably haven't heard of, but who was a gifted filmmaker who many an actor (and singers, like Madonna in particular) respected greatly." Writing on Facebook, Heard said, "I got to know Mr. Foley a bit as I interviewed him for TV ('If you don't stop calling me Mr. Foley and start calling me Jamie, then this conversation will be over!') and then when I was hanging around the set of his Toronto shot cop picture 'The Corruptor' as I was there hanging out with his star Chow Yun Fat. Jamie Foley was a very friendly guy, a bit eccentric in how he expressed himself, but a very interesting and talented artist."

By Eric San Juan

(Image: J. Vespa/WireImage)