Norman Jewison, director of the films “The Moon and Fiddler on the Roof,'' died at his home on Saturday at the age of 97, according to multiple reports.
Jewison's family spokesman Jeff Sanderson confirmed his death. according to New York Times (NYT). Sanderson said the family requested privacy at this time and declined to say where Jewison lived. Sanderson told the Associated Press that Jewison died “peacefully.” report.
jewisons 1987 movie “Moonstruck” won 18 awards and earned a total of 19 nominations, including three Oscar wins in 1988 and four other Oscar nominations. The film earned Cher an Oscar and helped ignite Nicolas Cage's career. According to the New York Times, Jewison received numerous nominations during his career, but never won an Oscar for Best Director.
Rest in Peace Norman Jewison
Moonstruck (1987)
— Michael Warburton (@MichaelWarbur17) January 22, 2024
“Norman was beloved for his creative spirit, infectious energy, and unique voice. For his commitment to social justice, pushing the boundaries of filmmaking, and advancing the art of storytelling. The Canadian Film Center, founded by Jewison in 1988, Said On Twitter. “His legacy lives on through his timeless films and the countless individuals and organizations he inspired and will continue to inspire for generations to come.”
The Canadian-born director has a career spanning more than 50 years and has worked on films that tackle themes such as racism and injustice, the Associated Press reported. After serving in the Royal Canadian Navy in World War II, Jewison hitchhiked across the southern United States, where he witnessed Jim Crow racism, the newspaper said.
His experiences inspired the 1967 film “In the Heat of the Night.” The film stars Sidney Poitier as a black detective who tries to help a racist white sheriff, played by Rod Steiger, solve a murder in a small town, according to the Associated Press. Jewison won the Academy Award for Best Picture, and Steiger won the Oscar for Best Actor.
“Films about civil rights and social justice are the films that are most important to me,” he once said, according to the New York Times. (Related: Iconic TV director Robert Butler dies at 95).
“Many Americans feel uncomfortable whenever a movie deals with racism,” he wrote in his autobiography published in 2004, the Associated Press reported. “Yet we have to confront it. We have to deal with prejudice and injustice, or we won't understand good and evil, right and wrong. I We need to feel how “others” feel. ”
