Canadian-born director Norman Jewison, who earned seven Oscar nominations and was awarded the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award at the 1999 Academy Awards, has died at age 97.
According to his publicist, Jewison died peacefully at his home on January 20, 2024. Further details have not been made available in order to protect his family's privacy.
The Canadian director's films include In the Heat of the Night, which won five Oscars including Best Picture; Fiddler on the Roof, which also won five Oscars; and Moonstruck, which won three. In total, his films received 46 nominations and won 12 Academy Awards.
In the early years of his career, Jewison, who was born in Toronto in 1926, worked at the CBC Canadian television network as a director. After seven years, he moved to New York, then Hollywood.
In 1986, he founded the Canadian Film Centre on Bayview Avenue in Toronto, which opened its doors in 1988 and went on to provide training and mentorship to help young Canadians break into the film industry.
In 2003, Jewison received the Governor General’s Performing Arts Award and in 1982 he was named an Officer of the Order of Canada, followed in 1992 by a Companion to the Order of Canada -- Canada’s highest civilian honor. In 2011, Jewison was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Directors Guild of America. He also received a 125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada Medal for his arts activism and the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal for his military service in the Royal Canadian Navy.
Jewison's wife of 51 years, Margaret Anne Dixon, died of an undisclosed illness in November 2004. They had three children -- cinematographer Kevin Jewison, producer Michael Jewison, and actress Jennifer Jewison -- and five grandchildren. Jewison met second wife Lynne St-David in 2008 and they married two years later.
Norman Jewison is pictured above in 2003 on the set of his last film, The Statement. ~Alexandra Heilbron