LOS ANGELES — Film producer Richard Zanuck, 77, who won the best picture Oscar for “Driving Miss Daisy” and was involved in such blockbuster films as “Jaws” and “The Sting” after his father, Hollywood mogul Darryl F. Zanuck, fired him from 20th Century Fox, died Friday.
Zanuck’s publicist says he died of a heart attack at his Beverly Hills home.
Zanuck’s run of successes as an independent producer rivaled the achievements of his legendary father who reigned over 20th Century Fox from the 1930s until age and changing audience tastes brought him down.
The production company the younger Zanuck founded with David Brown produced “The Sting” in 1973, as well as Steven Spielberg’s first feature film, “The Sugarland Express,” in 1974 and Spielberg’s first blockbuster, “Jaws,” in 1975.
“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 in a statement Friday. “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.”
In 1976, Zanuck and Brown announced a much-publicized deal with the estate of novelist Margaret Mitchell to produce a sequel to “Gone With the Wind.” A book and script were prepared, but the project never materialized on film.
In 1988, Zanuck and Brown dissolved their partnership amicably, and Zanuck formed a new venture with his third wife, Lili Fini Zanuck. They won the Oscar with their first movie together, “Driving Miss Daisy.”
The contrasts between Richard and Darryl Zanuck were many and led to father-son clashes throughout their respective careers.
After 20th Century Fox began to flounder, and under pressure from the board of directors, Darryl fired his son in 1970 in an effort to save his own job. The dismissal shattered the younger Zanuck. They didn’t resolve their differences until shortly before Darryl Zanuck’s death in 1979.
Zanuck’s legacy
A selection of movies Richard Zanuck produced over a 53-year career:
The Sound of Music, 1965
The Sting, 1973
Jaws, 1975
Cocoon, 1985
Driving Miss Daisy, 1989
Mulholland Falls, 1996
Road to Perdition, 2002
Big Fish, 2003
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, 2005
Dark Shadows, 2012
