Walter Mirisch, Oscar-winning producer from a bygone era, dies at 101
After working at a Poverty Row studio in the 1940s, he co-founded one of Hollywood’s leading independent production companies, working on films including ‘West Side Story’ and ‘In the Heat of the Night’
After working at a Poverty Row studio in the 1940s, he co-founded one of Hollywood’s leading independent production companies, working on films including ‘West Side Story’ and ‘In the Heat of the Night’
"...Unlike predecessors such as David O. Selznick and Samuel Goldwyn, he seemed to have little interest in placing his own personal stamp on a film; unlike contemporaries such as Robert Evans, he largely shunned the limelight, saying little even in interviews with newspapers like the Los Angeles Times, which once described him as “a man without anecdotes.”..
"...Mr. Mirisch worked on such popular fare as the all-star western “The Magnificent Seven” (1960), the prisoner-of-war story “The Great Escape” (1963) and the slapstick comedy “The Pink Panther” (1963), later saying that no actor was so difficult to work with as the film’s star, Peter Sellers. He also forged a long relationship with Jewison, with whom he collaborated on movies including “The Thomas Crown Affair” (1968), “Fiddler on the Roof” (1971) and “In the Heat of the Night,” one of the first Hollywood films to feature a Black law-enforcement hero..."
"...Mr. Mirisch worked on such popular fare as the all-star western “The Magnificent Seven” (1960), the prisoner-of-war story “The Great Escape” (1963) and the slapstick comedy “The Pink Panther” (1963), later saying that no actor was so difficult to work with as the film’s star, Peter Sellers. He also forged a long relationship with Jewison, with whom he collaborated on movies including “The Thomas Crown Affair” (1968), “Fiddler on the Roof” (1971) and “In the Heat of the Night,” one of the first Hollywood films to feature a Black law-enforcement hero..."
