In his varied career he made well-known films such as “Jesus Christ Superstar” and “The Thomas Crown Affair”.
Canadian film director Norman Jewison, His diverse selection of masterpieces includes the racial drama of 1967 “In the Heat of the Night”, the acidic romantic comedy of 1987 “Moonstruck” [Hechizo de luna] and the musical 1971 “Fiddler on the Roof”, died at the age of 97, his publicist said.
Jewison died Saturday at his home, his publicist said Monday. Jeff Sanderson.
Toronto native whose films include the 1966 Cold War satire “The Russians are coming, the Russians are coming” and the provocative rock opera from 1973 “Jesus Christ Superstar”, He was considered one of the most important directors of the last four decades of the 20th century. He was greatly admired for his ability to create effective films in many different genres.
His films won several Oscars and Jewison received a lifetime achievement Oscar in 1999. He starred in “In the Heat of the Night.” Sidney Poitier And Rod Steiger won the 1967 Oscar for Best Film.
Jewison's Moonspell (1987) became one of the most popular romantic comedies of all time. Hollywood. It tells the story of a widow Brooklyn, interpreted by Cher, who agrees to marry a man she doesn't love and then falls in love with his brother, played by him Nicolas Cage.
After Cage passionately tells Cher that he loves her, she memorably slaps him and scolds him, “Stop it!” Cher won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her sassy performance.
Jewison's travels as a young man through 1940s America – where he saw blatant white racism against blacks in the South – influenced his films, particularly his three racial dramas: “In the Heat of the Night,” “History of a Soldier” (1984 ) and “The Hurricane” (1999).
“In the Heat of the Night” focused on the relationship between a black police officer (Poitier) and a white sheriff (Steiger) in a racist southern town. The sight of Poitier's character punching a rich white landowner outraged some moviegoers at the time.
Jewison's other important films were “The Cincinnati Kid” (1965) and “The Thomas Crown Affair” (1968), from Steve McQueen, “Rollerball” (1975), a dystopian nightmare about corporate tyranny, and “Agnes of God” (1985), a saga about pregnant nuns.
Jewison remembers the teasing he endured as a child Toronto by the people who thought he was a Jew because of his name. He came from a Christian family, but the misconception persisted.