Oliver Stone

Stone in 2006, photo by Starfrenzy/bigstock.com

Birth Name: William Oliver Stone

Place of Birth: New York City, New York, U.S.

Date of Birth: September 15, 1946

Ethnicity:
*Ashkenazi Jewish (father)
*French (mother)

Oliver Stone is an American director, screenwriter, and producer. He has twice won the Academy Award for Best Director, for Platoon (1986) and Born on the Fourth of July (1989). He also directed the films Seizure, The Hand, Salvador, Wall Street, Talk Radio, The Doors, JFK, Heaven & Earth, Natural Born Killers, Nixon, U Turn, Any Given Sunday, Alexander, World Trade Center, W., Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, Savages, and Snowden, and the documentaries Comandante, South of the Border, JFK Revisited: Through the Looking Glass, and Nuclear Now. Of his fiction films, he wrote The Hand, Platoon, and Heaven & Earth, and co-wrote all of the rest, except for U Turn, World Trade Center, W., and the Wall Street sequel, four films he is not billed as a writer on. He also wrote the films Midnight Express and Scarface, and co-wrote the films Conan the Barbarian (1982), Year of the Dragon, 8 Million Ways to Die, and Evita.

Oliver’s father, Louis Stone (born Louis Silverstein), was an American Jewish soldier. He met Oliver’s mother, Jacqueline (Goddet), a French (Catholic) woman, in France, after fighting in WWII. His father worked as a stockbroker. Oliver was raised in Manhattan, New York City, and in Stamford, Connecticut. He attended prep school in Pottstown, Pennsylvania. Oliver is married to South Korean-born Sun-jung Jung. He has two children, including actor and filmmaker Sean Stone, with his former wife, film production assistant Elizabeth Burkit Cox; and a daughter with Sun-jung.

Oliver was raised in the Episcopalian faith. He is a practicing Buddhist.

Oliver’s paternal grandfather was Joshua Silverstein (the son of Hyam/Henry Wolfe/William Shapiro/Silverstein and Elizabeth/Libby/Leah/Rosie Oppenheim). Joshua was born in New York, to Jewish parents from Germany, Poland, or Russia. Henry was the son of Rabbi Osieja/Oseiey Josielowicz Szapir/Szapiera and Rachel/Chaja Osiejowa Aronowna. Elizabeth was the daughter of Joseph Oppenheim Chimelewsky and Rebecca Ginsberg.

Oliver’s paternal grandmother was Tillie/Mathilda Michaelson (the daughter of Abraham Michaelson and Hannah Rhein). Tillie was born in New York, to Jewish parents from Germany, Poland, or Russia.

Oliver’s maternal grandfather was named Jacques Goddet.

Oliver’s maternal grandmother was named Adele.

Sources: Notes on the religion of Oliver Stone, at Adherents.com – http://www.adherents.com

Genealogy of Oliver Stone – https://www.geni.com

Oliver’s father on the 1920 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org

Marriage record of Oliver’s paternal grandparents, Joshua Silverstein and Tillie/Mathilda Michaelson – https://familysearch.org

Oliver’s paternal grandfather, Joshua Silverstein, on the 1880 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org