Jonathan
Demme, who won an Academy Award for best director for The Silence of the Lambs,
passed away today at the age of 73.
The filmmaker
died of esophageal cancer and complications from heart disease, for which he
was first treated back in 2010.
From
comedies, to dramas, to TV, to documentaries, the director's interests were
wide and varied. Demme broke into filmmaking in the early 70s working with legendary
producer Roger Corman on films such as Caged Heat and Fighting Mad.
In
the 80s, Demme delved into light dramas and romantic comedies with the WWII
drama Swing Shift starring Goldie Hawn, Married to the Mob starring Michelle Pfeiffer,
and Something Wild with Melanie Griffith.
In
the 90s, Demme won his first and only Oscar with The Silence of the Lambs. In
this period, the filmmaker also directed the HVI drama Philadelphia starring Tom
Hanks and Denzel Washington, as well as the music documentary Storefront
Hitchcock, and Beloved, which won an Oscar for best costume design.
In
the following years, Demme directed the Charade remake titled The Truth About
Charlie (2002), The Manchurian Candidate (2004), Rachel Getting Married (2008),
for which Anne Hathaway received a best actress Oscar nomination, Ricki and the
Flash (2015), and the Netflix music documentary Justin Timberlake + the
Tennessee Kids (2016).
In
between films, Demme also directed episodes for many television shows including
SNL, Trying Times, Enlightened, and The Killing.
Demme
was married twice - first to fellow director Evelyn Purcell, and then to Joanne
Howard, with whom he had three children. His nephew, Ted Demme, also a director
known for Life (1999), Blow (2001), died in 2002.
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