You might know Kingston native Peter Bogdanovich from his black-and-white films like Paper Moon and The Last Picture Show, his signature ascot or his role as the psychiatrist’s psychiatrist on The Sopranos. Bogdanovich died Thursday at age 82.

The famed director, actor and writer was born here on July 30, 1939. How long he stayed here is unclear; The New York Times’ obit has him growing up on the Upper West Side in Manhattan. But in 2013, he was back in Ulster to receive the Woodstock Film Festival’s Maverick award.

Members of the local film community remembered Bogdanovich on Friday and praised his artistry.

“In addition to being a maverick filmmaker he was also an exceptional raconteur and each time he sat down and began to talk, you would feel like a disciple who would just want to sit at his feet and listen on and on,” said Meira Blaustein, executive director of the Woodstock Film Festival (WFF). “The filmmakers, young and all, were completely taken by him, as was I… His mark on the filmmaking community will be long lasting and I for one am thankful that we could honor him then.”

While Bogdanovich is known more today as a director, with The Last Picture Show and Paper Moon considered his best work, he also wrote voluminously about film and its history. His book This is Orson Welles, a compilation of interviews Bogdanovich conducted with Welles, is considered a landmark work.

Laurent Rejtö, executive director of the Hudson Valley Film Commission, has a penchant for figuring out the “many small degrees of separation” that exist between specific filmmakers and the Hudson Valley. Rejtö was also a big fan of his since seeing Paper Moon as a teenager and reading his accounts of the history of film as part of his film-school education. “All those factors led to my recommendation that Peter Bogdanovich be honored as a Maverick for his amazing legacy as a film director, writer, actor, producer, critic, and film historian,” Rejtö said.

“Peter Bogdanovich was a local treasure. When he was honored at the Woodstock Film Festival in 2013, he had so many wonderful experiences to share with the audience. From his friendship with Orson Welles, to his dead-on impression of Jimmy Stewart, he was a treasure-trove of old Hollywood stories,” said Gregg Bray, associate professor of Digital Media Production at SUNY New Paltz, and video coordinator for the WFF. “I got to have a brief exchange with him outside of one of the venues, where he spoke for a few moments about Saint Jack, a well-regarded film in his catalog. He was kind, considerate, and generous with his time.”

His acceptance speech at the WFF 2013 Maverick Award Gala, below:

And a sit-down WFF interview with Bogdanovich: