NORMAN JEWISON
(21 July 1926 – 20 January 2024)
Norman Jewison could turn his hand to anything. One of the most celebrated filmmakers of his generation, he actually started out acting in BBC productions and scripting children’s shows in London. But it was when he returned to his native Canada in 1952 and joined the infant CBC Television as an assistant director that he found his métier, working predominantly in variety and on musical shows, later making his name directing such large-scale film musicals as Fiddler on the Roof (1971) and Jesus Christ Superstar (1973). But diversity was his middle name and he ended up being Oscar-nominated for directing such dissimilar hit movies as In the Heat of the Night (1967) and Moonstruck (1987).
His real middle name was Frederick and he was born in Toronto to a Methodist family of English descent. Following his service in the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War, he enrolled at the University of Toronto and participated in his college’s All-Varsity Review as writer, director and performer. After London and CBC, he moved to New York and to NBC and directed a series of ‘specials’ featuring Harry Belafonte, Danny Kaye and, notably, Judy Garland. Tony Curtis picked him up to direct his comedy 40 Pounds of Trouble (1962) and Jewison was off, signing a two-picture deal with Universal-International Pictures and setting up his own production company, SImkoe Productions. For Universal he directed The Thrill of It All (1963) with Doris Day and Send Me No Flowers (1964) with Doris Day and Rock Hudson, and swore off romantic comedies for life. He went dramatic with The Cincinnati Kid (1965) starring Steve McQueen as a card sharp and the film was a critical hit. And so was the Cold War satire The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming (1966), which garnered a best picture Oscar nomination and a nod for its star, Alan Arkin. In the Heat of the Night (1967) was nominated for seven Oscars, including one for Jewison and actual gold statuettes for Rod Steiger (as a redneck sheriff), for Stirling Silliphant’s screenplay and for best picture. The Thomas Crown Affair (1968), with McQueen and Faye Dunaway, was another massive hit, a stylish crime romance that made chess sexy. In the 1970s, Jewison had more success with Fiddler on the Roof (1971), with Topol repeating his stage triumph as the poor Jewish milkman Tevye, with the film skewering eight Oscar nominations (including best director) and winning for best cinematography, best music (John Williams) and best sound. Then there was Jesus Christ Superstar (1973), which Jewison co-scripted with Melvyn Bragg from the Tim Rice-Andrew Lloyd Webber rock opera, and the dystopian sci-fi thriller Rollerball (1975) with James Caan, which was remade in 2002.
Jewison was reunited with Rod Steiger for the laboured labour union drama F.I.S.T. (1978), top-billing Sylvester Stallone, after which he directed Al Pacino in the legal comedy-drama ...And Justice for All (1979), another critical and commercial success. His next hit arrived with A Soldier's Story (1984), which was based on the play by Charles Fuller and received Oscar nominations for best picture, best screenplay (Fuller) and supporting actor (Adolph Caesar). The adaptation of John Pielmeier's play Agnes of God (1985) harvested three more nominations, for best score, best actress (Anne Bancroft) and supporting actress (Meg Tilly), proving yet again how adept Jewison was at coaxing first-rate performances from his actors. And he didn’t stop there. Moonstruck (1987) won Cher an Oscar for her role as an Italian-American widow, another Oscar for Olympia Dukakis as her mother, and a nomination for Vincent Gardenia as her father. Jewison himself landed his third nomination as best director and the film was nominated best picture (but lost out to The Last Emperor). Such acclaim was hard to maintain, and now that Jewison was 63 his last few films were not so garlanded, although the true-life boxing drama The Hurricane (1999) secured Denzel Washington an Academy Award nomination for his role as Rubin Carter, who was wrongfully convicted of a triple-murder. Jewison’s last film as director was The Statement (2003), with Michael Caine as a French Nazi collaborator, which did not receive kind reviews. Four years earlier Jewison was honoured with a lifetime achievement Oscar. He died peacefully at the age of 97 and is survived by two sons, a daughter and his autobiography, This Terrible Business Has Been Good to Me (1999). He spent his later years on his 240-acre farm in Ontario where he produced a huge amount of maple syrup.
JAMES CAMERON-WILSON
