Norman Jewison, the Canadian multiple Oscar nominee and director of such classics as In The Heat Of The Night and Moonstruck, has died. He was 97.
Jewison’s publicist confirmed the filmmaker died at his home on Saturday (January 20).
Toronto International Film Festival, which staged a retrospective for Jewison in 2011, posted on X (formerly Twitter) that the filmmaker’s impact “on the broader film landscape will endure, inspiring future generations of filmmakers and captivating audiences for years to come”.
Jewison was born in Toronto on July 21 1926 and served in the Canadian Navy. Post-war he attended Toronto’s Victoria College where he earned a degree in general arts before his entry into the entertainment industry, studying at the BBC before going on to work as a director for Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in Toronto.
His films illustrated a strong social conscience and deep concern for civil rights. In The Heat Of The Night made waves when it first came out in 1967 shortly after racial violence across the United States and went on to win the best picture Oscar and four others.
Jewison himself never won an Oscar although he was nominated for seven and his films garnered 46 nominations. His first feature was 40 Pounds Of Trouble starring Tony Curtis in 1962 and three years later he directed Steve McQueen in The Cincinnati Kid after Sam Peckinpah dropped out.
Credits include Jesus Christ Superstar, Fiddler On The Roof, The Thomas Crown Affair, Rollerball, The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming, and The Hurricane.
He founded the Canadian Film Centre in Toronto in 1986 and received the best director award at the Berlin Film Festival for Moonstruck in 1988, as well as Italy’s Donatello Award for Jesus Christ Superstar in 1974, and the Canadian Academy’s Genie Award for special achievement in 1988.
Jewison received the US Academy’s Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award in 1999 and in January 2010 collected the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Directors Guild of America.
Jewison divided his time between Toronto and California and is survived by his wife Lynne St. David, children Kevin Jewison, Michael Jewison, Jenny Snyder, and five grandchildren.
Ceremonies will be scheduled for Los Angeles and Toronto at a later date.
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