The Canadian director Norman Jewison, author of a varied filmography in Hollywood, which includes in particular the films In the Heat of the Night And Jesus Christ SuperstarHe died this weekend at the age of 97.
The filmmaker “died peacefully on Saturday,” according to a press release from his agent Jeff Sanderson, who states that ceremonies in his honor will be held “later in Los Angeles and Toronto.”
After starting out in Canadian television, Mr. Jewison established himself as one of Hollywood's most versatile filmmakers over the course of his career. His numerous films notably earned him three Oscar nominations for Best Director.
Social filmmaker
Political satire for “The Russians are Coming” (1966), heist film with Steve McQueen in “The Thomas Crown Affair” (1968), musical comedy with “Fiddler on the Roof” (1971), his work breaks into very different genres.
But in the United States, his legacy remains primarily that of a filmmaker interested in social issues. This is particularly thanks to the film “In the Heat of the Night”, which won five Oscars in 1967, including best picture.
Under the guise of a simple detective film, the filmmaker addresses racial tensions in the USA and the founding division of the United States.
Legendary Sidney Poitier, Hollywood's first black star, plays a Philadelphia police officer who is accused of murder in Mississippi and must lead the investigation with the local white sheriff while also dealing with the residents' racism.
“Films that deal with civil rights and social justice are the ones that matter most to me,” Norman Jewison said, The New York Times recalled on Monday.
The Canadian Film Centre, a training institution founded in 1988 by Norman Jewison, said Monday it was mourning the loss of a “visionary” and “national icon” known “for his commitment to social justice.”
Canadian Culture Minister Pascale St-Onge praised a filmmaker with “unique” films.
“Whether In the Heat of the Night, Fiddler on the Roof or Moonlight, his films will have touched his fans here and elsewhere in the world.”
Big names in Hollywood
Sylvester Stallone in FIST (1978), Al Pacino in Justice for All (1979), Denzel Washington in Hurricane Carter (1999): Over the course of his long career, Norman Jewison has directed the biggest names in Hollywood.
He also worked with Frenchman Gérard Depardieu, directing Bogus with Whoopi Goldberg in 1996.
His films received a total of 46 Oscar nominations and won 12 awards. Enough to enable pop singer Cher to win the Oscar for best actress for her romance with Nicolas Cage in Moonlight (1987).
“Thank you for one of the greatest, happiest and most fun experiences of my life,” the singer responded to X on Monday. “Without you I wouldn't have my beautiful golden man.”
Norman Jewison was born in Toronto in 1926 and was raised by Protestant parents who ran a store below their apartment. But because of his name, the young man is harassed at school by his classmates, who believe he is Jewish, according to the New York Times.
He showed an interest in cinema and theater at an early age and after earning his first money as a taxi driver, he found a job at Canadian television CBC in the 1950s.
He spent seven years there before venturing into the world of American television and then into cinema. His first film as a director in Hollywood, Trouble in the Shovel, dates from 1962.
A recipient of the Order of Canada, the highest honor in his country of origin, the filmmaker leaves behind three children and five grandchildren.