He was definitely an alcoholic, maybe a messiah of art outside of the even-more-predominant-today “industry.” Definitely a misogynist, not sure about genius. Probs?
Not a huge fan, but I think his Columbo episode “Etude in Black” is genius. HIS genius? Not sure.
I’d love to hear others’ thoughts about this auteur. Yes, this is not an original question, but I’ve never been able to ask anyone else about the subject.