Norman Jewison, In the Heat of the Night and Moonstruck director, dies at 97

Norman Jewison, the versatile director behind some of the 20th century's most beloved movies, including In the Heat of the Night and Moonstruck, died Saturday at his home in Los Angeles. He was 97.

His publicist confirmed the news to EW. A cause of death was not disclosed.

Jewison was responsible for a wide variety of popular films in wildly different genres, including Fiddler on the Roof, The Thomas Crown Affair, Rollerball, The Cincinnati Kid, and Jesus Christ Superstar. He received the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 1999, and his films won a total of 12 Oscars from 41 nominations, including a Best Picture win for In the Heat of the Night.

Born in Toronto in 1926, Jewison attended Victoria College at the University of Toronto after serving in the Royal Canadian Navy during World War II. He was involved in numerous theatrical productions in various capacities during his time at university, and moved to London after graduating, where he worked for the BBC. He began his directing career in Canada at CBC Television in the early 1950s, helming musical, comedy, and variety specials.

Jewison moved to New York in 1958 and worked on series like Your Hit Parade and The Andy Williams Show, and on televised specials highlighting major entertainers like Danny Kaye, Harry Belafonte, and Jackie Gleason. His big American TV breakthrough was Judy Garland's 1962 special, which also starred Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra. Jewison told The Wrap in 2008 that Tony Curtis met with him during the rehearsal of the Garland special and told him, "I saw what you did with Belafonte… that was really terrific. You ever thought of making a movie?" and sent him the screenplay for 40 Pounds of Trouble, which became his feature directing debut in 1962.

After directing a few more films in the early '60s, Jewison ascended to new career heights with 1965's The Cincinnati Kid, a gambling drama starring Steve McQueen. The next year, he directed and produced The Russians Are Coming, the Russians are Coming, a Cold War satire starring Carl Reiner, Eva Marie Saint, and Alan Arkin that received four Oscar nominations, including Best Picture.

Jewison's next film, In the Heat of the Night, was perhaps his most resounding success. The racially charged crime drama, which starred Sidney Poitier and Rod Steiger, won Best Picture at the Oscars and netted Jewison his first nomination for Best Director. He then reteamed with McQueen on the romantic crime caper The Thomas Crown Affair, which was eventually remade by John McTiernan as a Pierce Brosnan vehicle in 1999.

In the 1970s, Jewison directed two seminal movie musicals: Fiddler on the Roof and Jesus Christ Superstar. The former became the second-highest grossing film of 1971 and was nominated for eight Oscars, ultimately winning three (for cinematography, music, and sound). The latter marked the first theatrical film adaptation of an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical. Jewison then directed Rollerball, a James Caan-starring dystopian sports film that was also later remade by McTiernan.

Jewison spent the next decade working with some of Hollywood’s biggest stars, including Sylvester Stallone on 1978's F.I.S.T., Al Pacino on 1979's And Justice for All, Goldie Hawn and Burt Reynolds on 1982's Best Friends, and Jane Fonda on 1985's Agnes of God. 

Moonstruck proved to be another career highlight, quickly becoming a universally beloved rom-com. The film stars Cher and Nicolas Cage as two New Yorkers falling in love despite their better instincts, and won three Oscars (one for Cher, one for supporting actress Olympia Dukakis, and a third for its screenplay). Cher paid tribute to Jewison on social media Monday, saying he made Moonstruck "The GREAT FILM" people love.

After Moonstruck, Jewison worked with Bruce Willis on 1989's In Country, Danny DeVito on 1991's Other People's Money, Marisa Tomei and Robert Downey Jr. on 1994's Only You, Whoopi Goldberg on 1995's Bogus, and Denzel Washington on 1999's The Hurricane. His final film was The Statement in 2003, starring Michael Caine and Tilda Swinton.

Jewison was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1982 and elevated to Companion of the Order of Canada in 1992. He was also presented with the Governor General's Performing Arts Award in 2004.

Jewison is survived by his wife, Lynne St. David; children Kevin, Michael, and Jenny Snyder; and five grandchildren.

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