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Producer Richard D. Zanuck - jaws
Film / Television / MediaNew

Producer Richard D. Zanuck Dies at 77

Producer Richard D. Zanuck - jaws

Producer Richard D. Zanuck Dies at 77

I just got texted by someone in LA with some very, very sad news: Richard Zanuck has passed away.

To the average person they may not have ever heard of Dick Zanuck but if you were a film fan, he was a legend.

He’s best known as the producer of “Jaws” and “Driving Miss Daisy” and the son of famed 20th Century Fox head Daryl F. Zanuck.

Zanuck was the one who took a chance on a young director and his ‘shark movie’ which would turn out to be Spielberg (whom he had met when he gave him the film “The Sugarland Express”) and JAWS.

Spielberg had this to say about Zanuck:
“In 1974, Dick Zanuck and I sat in a boat off Martha’s Vineyard and watched the mechanical shark sink to the bottom of the sea,” Spielberg said. “Dick turned to me and smiled. ‘Gee, I sure hope that’s not a sign.’ That moment forged a bond between us that lasted nearly 40 years. He taught me everything I know about producing. He was one of the most honorable and loyal men of our profession and he fought tooth and nail for his directors.”

Zanuck was also a top executive at Warner Bros. and 20th Century Fox, where he helped oversee such classic pictures as “The Exorcist” and “The Sound of Music.”

Zanuck was a legend and when you heard stories about him they were always about what a great guy he was to work with and for and how he tried to make damn good films.

RIP Dick Zanuck.

#rip   #richardzanuck   #film

 

K.B.
the authorK.B.

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