Norman Jewison, director of ‘Moonstruck’ and ‘In the Heat of the Night’ dead at 97

“Moonstruck” director Norman Jewison has died. He was 97. 

The Canadian film and television director and producer died Saturday, at his home, according to a statment made by his publicist Jeff Sanderson to The Hollywood Reporter. 

Born in Toronto in 1926, Jewison got his start directing musical spots on TV. 

In 1958, he directed “Your Hit Parade” for CBS, then directed “The Andy Williams Show,” two Harry Belafonte specials, and and award-winning Judy Garland specials.

After moving into the movie industry, he became a seven-time Oscar nominee. 

He  directed the famous 1967 Sidney Poitier movie  “In the Heat of the Night,” the original “Fiddler on the Roof,” the 1968 thriller “The Thomas Crown Affair,” starring Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway, and the Nicolas Cage and Cher 1987 rom com, “Moonstruck.” 

His seven Oscar nominations included three for Best Director (for “In the Heat of the Night,” “Fiddler on the Roof,” and “Moonstruck”) and four for Best Picture (“The Russians Are Coming,” “The Russians Are Coming,” “Fiddler on the Roof, A Soldier’s Story, Moonstruck”).

As a whole, his movies earned 46 nominations and 12 Oscars. 

In TV, he also won three Emmys, and he also produced “Jesus Christ Superstar.” 

In 1999, Jewison also received the prestigious Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award from the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences, and in 2010, he was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Directors Guild of America. 

Canada made him an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1982. He was also made a member of the Order of Ontario in 1989, and in 1992 decorated him with the Companion of the Order of Canada (which is the country’s highest civilian award).

In a 1968 interview with legendary film critic Roger Ebert, Jewison said about his filmmaking philosophy that he believes in shooting on-location. 

“You’ve got to get out and shoot where it really happens,” he said. “You get a feeling of actuality. You get little things happening – remember the gate that kept getting stuck in ‘In the Heat of the Night’? The location suggests things to you.”

Regarding “The Thomas Crown Affair,” which he filmed in Boston, he said, “Think of it – a movie shot in Boston. Nobody ever shoots movies in Boston. You get hundreds of movies shot in Los Angeles, a godforsaken place. But never in Boston, or Chicago. And these are cities with tremendous atmosphere, an excitement that hangs in the air without anyone realizing it.”

Ebert described him as having a “satirist’s sense of humor” and “more fun than most directors” while he was on set, telling frequent jokes. 

He married his first wife, Margaret Ann Dixon, from 1953 until her death in 2004, and together they had three children and five grandchildren. He married his second wife, Lynne St. David, from 2010 until his death. He is survived by his wife, his children, and his grandchildren.