The US papers of record and over here The Guardian recognised the passing of Walter Mirisch at the end of last month, but there was barely a ripple on our broadcast media. I only found out by accident (I shall start taking the Guardian again when they stop firing journalists and paying their leading execs. Lineker-style sums of money). To quote from the IMDb:
He was a visionary who, in the declining years of the Hollywood studio system, could see that the future lay with the independent producers.
He set up in business with his older brothers Harold and Marvin as the Mirisch Company.
Operating out of rented office space at the old Samuel Goldwyn lot in Hollywood, the Mirisches kept their overhead low by such tactics as renting studio stages and facilities only when needed. Whereas the major studios were still burdened by high overhead and salaries, the brothers were in a position to attract top talent and offer high fees and flexible control to up-and-coming directors
Among those he worked with were Norman Jewison (director of the first "Thomas Crown Affair" and of "In the Heat of the Night"), Don Siegel ("Invasion of the Body Snatchers" and several Clint Eastwood pictures) and Blake Edwards. Not only did the Mirisches produce the Pink Panther movie series, they also produced the cartoon spin-offs. He enabled Hal Ashby ("Shampoo") to make his directorial debut with "The Landlord", a personal favourite which put racial prejudice in perspective, with a light touch.
The full list of the movies he was behind, not always credited, is here.
No comments:
Post a Comment