Peter Medak, the Hungarian-born director of "The Changeling," "The Krays" and "The Ruling Class," has died at 88. The Guardian, Variety and Screen Daily report he died on Tuesday in Los Angeles. His family said he died peacefully, The Guardian reports.

Medak was born in Budapest in 1937. His Jewish family went into hiding during World War II. Under Hungary's Communist rule, his father was imprisoned, Variety and Screen Daily report. At 18, he fled to England during the 1956 Hungarian uprising, barely speaking English.

Through contacts of his aunt, opera singer Lotte Medák, he trained at British Pathé and worked his way up as an assistant director. He made his first feature, "Negatives," starring Glenda Jackson, in 1968.

In 1972, he directed "A Day in the Death of Joe Egg" with Alan Bates and "The Ruling Class" with Peter O'Toole, who earned an Oscar nomination. His 1980 horror film "The Changeling," with George C. Scott, won eight Genie Awards, Variety reports. Martin Scorsese has named it one of his favorite horror films, The Guardian reports.

"The Krays," released in 1990, starred Gary and Martin Kemp as the gangster twins. It was followed by "Let Him Have It" and "Romeo Is Bleeding" with Gary Oldman. Over six decades he directed 27 features.

He also directed a great deal of TV, including "Homicide: Life on the Street," "The Wire," "Breaking Bad" and "House." Screen Daily puts his total at 59 episodes.

Writers Neal Purvis and Robert Wade, whose first film he directed, said, according to The Guardian: "We couldn't have hoped for a kinder, more respectful collaborator."

He is survived by four children, Christopher, Joshua, Karen and Cornelia, and five grandchildren.

What we know: Peter Medak died on Tuesday in Los Angeles at 88.
What we don't: Details of any memorial plans.