Walter Mirisch, one of Hollywood’s most prolific American producers, died at the age of 101 on February 24, 2023 in Los Angeles, the Academy of Oscars announced in a statement on Sunday. He had notably produced West Side Story and Some Like It Hot. The career of the Oscar-winning producer, former president of the academy, has spanned six decades. The academy was “deeply saddened to learn of Walter’s passing,” general manager Bill Kramer and president Janet Yang said in the statement, hailing a “true visionary.”
“He had a powerful impact on the film community and the academy […] His passion for film and the academy never wavered, and he remained a dear friend and advisor,” they added. .
Walter Mirisch, born in New York on November 8, 1921, has been honored three times by the academy. He received the Best Picture Oscar for In the Heat of the Night (1967), the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award for the “constantly high quality of his film production” and the Jean-Hersholt Humanitarian Award. .
For the academy, Mr. Mirisch was “one of the most prolific producers in Hollywood history”. His production company, Mirisch Company, created in 1957 with his brothers Harold and Marvin, was responsible for several cult films such as Some Like It Hot (1959), The Magnificent Seven (1960), West Side Story (1961 ), The Great Escape (1963), The Pink Panther (1963) and The Thomas Crown Affair (1968).
His wife Patricia died in 2005, and he leaves behind his three children, a grandson and two great-grandsons.
