A satirist of American conventions, director Michael Ritchie made his best, most biting comedies -- including Semi-Tough -- during the 1970s. In later years, commercial constraints muted much of his freewheeling comic sensibility.

Born Nov. 28, 1938, in Waukesha, Wis., Ritchie was raised in Berkeley, Calif., and educated at Harvard University, where his direction of a college production led to an associate producer job on the "Omnibus" TV series. In 1969, Ritchie proved to be a director to watch with his first feature: the documentary-style Downhill Racer starring Robert Redford.

In 1972, Ritchie and Redford continued their partnership with The Candidate, which Ritchie followed with The Bad News Bears (1976). His later films of note include Fletch (1985) and The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom (1993). Ritchie died April 16, 2001.