LOS ANGELES.- Norman Jewison, el director of romantic comedy Moon spell and the Oscar-winning racial drama In the heat of the nightdied at the age of 97, reported his publicist.
“Jewison died peacefully on Saturday, January 20, 2024 at his home,” Jeff Sanderson said in a statement recently sent to AFP.
“His legacy will endure through his timeless films and the countless people and organizations he has inspired, and will continue to inspire, for generations,” reacted the Canadian Film Centre, which Jewison founded in 1986.
His work, which also includes works such as Violinist on the roof (1971) y Society for crime (1968), earned 46 Academy Award nominations and 12 wins.
However, the acclaimed director of Canadian origin did not win the coveted statuette competitively. In 1999 he was honored by the Academy with the Irving Thalberg Special Recognition.
The Spanish director JA Bayona also went to social networks to express his condolences. “(Jewison) was able to direct one of the best social dramas in history, In the heat of the nightas well as one of the most charming love stories ever filmed, Moon spell“, I say.
With more than four decades of career in the industry, launching some of the most famous Hollywood stars under his direction, he also won three Emmys thanks to his renowned work on television.
“Norman Jewison’s films were unique stories because of his unique talent,” Canadian Culture Minister Pascale St-Onge said Monday.
Director’s debut in the cinema
Jewison was born in Toronto on July 21, 1926.
He dabbled in acting since he was a child, with some roles in school theater, but it was behind the cameras that he built a career.
He gained his first opportunities on television first in his native Canada, then in London and then in New York, where he worked side by side with figures such as Harry Belafonte and Judy Garland.
Debut on the big screen in 1962 with 20 kilos of thestarring Tony Curtis, which was followed by three other romantic comedies.
Jewison, who did not abandon the genre completely, began to lean as a filmmaker towards productions with social content.
After directing Steve McQueen as a poker player in The great challenge (1965), continued with his political career Here come the Russians, here come the Russians! (1966).
Big leap
But it was with In the heat of the night (1967), starring Sidney Poitier, where he made his big leap.
The thriller, which chillingly portrays the American South, with Poitier as a model of integrity amid white incompetence in Mississippi, took home five Academy Awards, including Best Picture.
Jewison was also at the forefront of the rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar (1973), the futuristic film Rollerball: the gladiators of the future (1975), starring James Caan, and Sylvester Stallone’s political drama F.I.S.T (1978).
In 1987 another of the great successes of his career would arrive, the cult romantic comedy Moon spellstarring Cher and Nicolas Cage, which swept the box office and won three Oscars, including one for its lead actress.
“See you later, sweet prince,” Cher reacted on social networks. “Thank you for one of the greatest, happiest and most fun experiences of my life,” added the singer.
I continued alternating between romantic comedies like Slo t (1994), with Marisa Tomei and Robert Downey Jr., and dramas with social content such as Huracn (1999), in which Denzel Washington plays the boxer Rubin “Hurricane” Carter, to dedicate himself mostly to production in recent decades.
Norman Jewison left behind his wife, three children and five grandchildren.
FUENTE: AFP
