Norman Jewison | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) | |
| Born | Norman Frederick Jewison (1926-07-21)July 21, 1926 Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Died | January 20, 2024(2024-01-20) (aged 97) Malibu, California, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Victoria College (B.A., 1949) |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1950–2003 |
| Organization | Canadian Film Centre |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 3 |
| Awards | Full list |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance | Canada |
| Branch | Royal Canadian Navy |
| Service years | 1944–1945 |
| Conflicts | World War II |
Norman Frederick JewisonCC OOnt (July 21, 1926 – January 20, 2024) was a Canadian filmmaker. He is known for directing films which addressed topicalsocial andpolitical issues, often making controversial or complicated subjects accessible to mainstream audiences. Among numerous other accolades, he was nominated for theAcademy Award for Best Director three times in three separate decades, forIn the Heat of the Night (1967),Fiddler on the Roof (1971), andMoonstruck (1987). He was nominated for an additional four Oscars, threeGolden Globe Awards, and aPrimetime Emmy Award, and won aBAFTA Award. He received theAcademy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences'sIrving G. Thalberg Memorial Award in1999.[1]
Born and raised inToronto, Jewison began his career atCBC Television in the 1950s, moving to the United States later in the decade to work atNBC. He made his feature film debut in 1962, with the comedy40 Pounds of Trouble, and embarked on a motion picture directing career that spanned over 40 years. His notable films includedThe Cincinnati Kid (1965),The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming (1966),In The Heat of the Night (1967),The Thomas Crown Affair (1968),Jesus Christ Superstar (1973),Rollerball (1975),F.I.S.T. (1978),...And Justice for All (1979),A Soldier's Story (1984),Agnes of God (1985), andThe Hurricane (1999).
In 1988, Jewison founded theCanadian Film Centre. In 2003, he received theGovernor General's Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement for his multiple contributions to thefilm industry in Canada.[2] He was Chancellor ofVictoria University in the University of Toronto, his alma mater, from 2004 until 2010.
For four decades, he worked out of a 5th floor office in his home at 18 Gloucester Street, a former furniture factory. In 2001,City of Toronto honored Jewison by naming Norman Jewison Park across the street in his honor. In 2023, the Hazelton Hotel named its screening room after him.[3][4][5]
Jewison was born inToronto, Ontario, the son of Dorothy Irene (née Weaver) and Percy Joseph Jewison (1890–1974),[6] who managed a convenience store and post office.[7] He attended Kew Beach School andMalvern Collegiate Institute, and while growing up in the 1930s displayed an aptitude for performing and theatre. He was often mistaken for beingJewish due to his surname and direction ofFiddler on the Roof, but Jewison and his family areProtestants (Methodists[8]) of English descent.[9] He served in theRoyal Canadian Navy (1944–1945) duringWorld War II, and after being discharged travelled in theAmerican South, where he encounteredsegregation, an experience that influenced his later work.[10]
Jewison attendedVictoria College in theUniversity of Toronto, graduating with a B.A. in 1949. As a student, he was involved in writing, directing, and acting in various theatrical productions, including the All-Varsity Revue in 1949. Following graduation, he moved to London England, where he worked sporadically as a script writer for a children's television program and bit part actor for theBBC, while supporting himself with odd jobs. Out of work in Britain in late 1951, he returned to Canada to become a production trainee atCBLT in Toronto, which was preparing for the launch ofCBC Television.[11]
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When CBC Television went on the air in the fall of 1952, Jewison was an assistant director.[11] During the next seven years he wrote, directed, and produced a wide variety of musicals, comedy-variety shows, dramas, and specials, includingThe Big Revue,Showtime, andThe Barris Beat. In 1953 he married Margaret Ann "Dixie" Dixon, a former model. They had three children – Michael, Kevin, and Jennifer[12][13] – who all pursued careers in the entertainment industry.[14] In 1958 Jewison was recruited to work forNBC in New York, where his first assignment wasYour Hit Parade, followed byThe Andy Williams Show. The success of these shows led to directing specials featuring performers such asHarry Belafonte,Jackie Gleason, andDanny Kaye. The television production that proved pivotal to Jewison's career was theJudy Garland "comeback" special that aired in 1961, which includedFrank Sinatra andDean Martin, and led to a weekly show that Jewison was later called in to direct. Visiting the studio during rehearsal for the special, actorTony Curtis suggested to Jewison that he should direct a feature film.[10]
Jewison's career as a film director began when Tony Curtis' andJanet Leigh's film production company,Curtleigh Productions, hired him to direct the comedy40 Pounds of Trouble in February 1962.[15] The film was financed and distributed byUniversal-International Pictures and was the first motion picture ever filmed atDisneyland.[15][16] Curtleigh Productions' contract with Jewison had a negotiable option for further films if the initial picture was successful.[17] In early October 1962, Jewison formed his own independent film production company, Simkoe Productions, and signed a two-picture deal with Curtis' new film production company,Curtis Enterprises, as well as an additional two-picture deal with Universal-International Pictures.[18] Although the two pictures for Curtis Enterprises were not made, both films for Universal-International Pictures were. He made two comedies starringDoris Day:The Thrill of It All, released in 1963 and co-starringJames Garner, andSend Me No Flowers, released in 1964 and co-starringRock Hudson. After another comedy,The Art of Love (1965), Jewison was determined to escape from the genre and tackle more demanding projects.[19][20]
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His breakthrough film proved to beThe Cincinnati Kid (1965), a drama starringSteve McQueen, and Jewison considered it one of his personal favourites because it was his first challenging drama.[21] This success was followed in 1966 by a satire onCold War paranoia,The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming; it was the first film Jewison also produced, and it was nominated for fourAcademy Awards, including Best Picture. He felt that doing "a plea for coexistence, or the absurdity of international conflict was important right at that moment". While reaction toRussians was positive, Jewison was labelled as "a Canadian pinko" by right-wing commentators.[22]
Continuing his string of successes was one of the films that has become closely identified with Jewison as its director,In the Heat of the Night (1967), a crime drama set in a racially divided Southern town and starringSidney Poitier andRod Steiger, which won five Academy Awards, including Best Picture, while Jewison was nominated for Best Director. While he was filming,Robert Kennedy told Jewison that this could be "a very important film. Timing is everything". Kennedy reminded Jewison of that prediction a year and a half later when he presented him with theCritics' Choice Movie Award for best drama.[22] As a follow-up he directed and produced another film with McQueen, using innovative multiple screen images in the crime caperThe Thomas Crown Affair (1968). From that point Jewison produced all feature films he directed, often with associate Patrick Palmer, and he also acted as producer for films directed by others, beginning with his former film editorHal Ashby's directorial debutThe Landlord (1970).[23] After the completion of the period comedyGaily, Gaily (1969), Jewison, having become disenchanted with the political climate in the United States, moved his family to England.[23]
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At Pinewood Studios northwest of London, and on location inYugoslavia, he worked on the musicalFiddler on the Roof (1971, re-issued 1979), which won threeOscars and was nominated for five others, including Best Picture and Director. During the filming ofFiddler, Jewison was also the subject of the 1971National Film Board of Canada documentary,Norman Jewison, Filmmaker, directed by Douglas Jackson.[24] Jewison's next project was the musicalJesus Christ Superstar (1973), based on the Broadway musical written byAndrew Lloyd Webber andTim Rice. It was filmed in Israel, where Jewison also produced the westernBilly Two Hats (1974), starringGregory Peck.Superstar, controversial for its treatment of a religious subject, was followed by another movie that sparked critical debate, this time over violence.Rollerball (1975) is set in the near future when corporations rule the world and entertainment is centred around a deadly game. The next film he directed, the labour union dramaF.I.S.T. (1978), loosely based on the life ofJimmy Hoffa, also provided some controversy, this time regarding thescreenwriting credit. ScreenwriterJoe Eszterhas was unhappy to share the screenwriting credit with the film's starSylvester Stallone, as he felt that Stallone's input had been minor, while Stallone claimed to have basically rewritten the whole script.[25]
In 1978 Jewison returned to Canada, settling in theCaledon area inOntario and establishing a farm that produced prizewinning cattle, as well as maple syrup.[14][26] Operating from a base inToronto, as well as one maintained in California, he directed high-profile actorsAl Pacino in...And Justice for All (1979), andBurt Reynolds andGoldie Hawn in the romantic comedyBest Friends (1982), and he producedThe Dogs of War (1981) andIceman (1984). During this period Jewison also produced the53rd Annual Academy Awards (1981), which was slated to air the day PresidentRonald Reagan was shot and had to be rescheduled. Revisiting the theme of racial tension that had characterisedIn the Heat of the Night, Jewison'sA Soldier's Story (1984), based on aPulitzer Prize winning play, was nominated for three Academy Awards, including Best Picture. His next film was also based on a successful play.Agnes of God (1985), set in aQuebec convent, starredJane Fonda,Meg Tilly, andAnne Bancroft; it received three Academy Award nominations.[23] In 1986, he then discontinued the agreement with film producerColumbia Pictures, citing the behaviour of British filmmaker and head of productionDavid Puttnam.[27] After the falling out with Columbia, his Yorktown Productions company was moved toMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer for a three-year agreement to direct, produce, and develop pictures from the studio, and gave MGM the right of first refusal on films he wished to make.[28] Jewison's next film proved to be one of the most popular romantic films ever made.Moonstruck (1987), starringCher, was a box office hit that garnered three Academy Awards, including Best Actress for Cher. Jewison also received his third Best Director nomination.[12][13]
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For the next decade Jewison continued to direct feature films released by major studios:In Country (1989), a drama concerned withVietnam veterans and the daughter of a war casualty;Other People's Money (1991), a social comedy about greed in the 1980s;Only You (1994), a romantic comedy set in Italy; andBogus (1996), a fantasy about a young boy and his imaginary friend. He also served as producer for the filmJanuary Man (1989), executive producer for the Canadian movieDance Me Outside, and branched back into television both as director and producer, including theTNT biographical filmGeronimo (1993) and the seriesThe Rez (1996–1998).[29]
The Hurricane (1999) was Jewison's third film to explore the effects of racism, telling the story of boxerRubin "Hurricane" Carter, who had been falsely convicted for a triple murder inNew Jersey during the mid-1960s.Denzel Washington won aGolden Globe and was nominated for anOscar for his portrayal of Carter. In 1999, Jewison's work was recognised by The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences when he was given theIrving G. Thalberg Memorial Award for lifetime achievement. Jewison continued directing and producing up until his last film to be released, the 2003 thrillerThe Statement, based on a novel byBrian Moore starringMichael Caine. That same year his autobiographyThis Terrible Business Has Been Good to Me was published, expressing the enthusiasm, conviction, and creative passion that sustained his career.[30]
In 1999, he directed theHBO television movieDinner with Friends starringAndie MacDowell,Greg Kinnear,Toni Collette, andDennis Quaid. The film was based on theplay of the same name byDonald Margulies. Jewison was nominated for thePrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Television Movie.[23]
Describing the key characteristic of the films he made, he once said: "I want people to recognise themselves in the movies I make. I don't enjoy no-brainer action movies."[31]
Jewison's commitment and contribution to film in Canada is evidenced by his creation of the Canadian Centre for Advanced Film Studies in 1986, which opened two years later as an advanced film school on Windfields Estate in Toronto, Ontario. This was subsequently renamed theCanadian Film Centre (CFC).[32]
More than 1,700 alumni and 100 alumni companies have come out of CFC's programs to date,[32] includingShaftesbury Films,Conquering Lion Pictures, CopperHeart Entertainment, Smiley Guy Studios, and Secret Location.[33] The centre has helped incubate and/or develop groundbreaking original content, including hit television seriesOrphan Black (from creatorsGraeme Manson andJohn Fawcett,[34] CFC alumni), the award-winning first featureCloset Monster (from writer/director alumnusStephen Dunn),[35][36] and internationally award-winning documentary featureStories We Tell (from director and CFC alumnaSarah Polley).[37]
Additionally, feature films such asRhymes for Young Ghouls (directorJeff Barnaby),Cube (directorVincenzo Natali), andRude (directorClement Virgo) have been developed and produced through CFC Features.[38]
Each year in Los Angeles, Jewison bestowed the CFC Award for Creative Excellence to CFC alumni in recognition of their outstanding work and contributions to the screen-based entertainment industry. Jewison presented the inaugural award to CFC alumnaSemi Chellas (Mad Men) in 2014, to Graeme Manson and John Fawcett (Orphan Black) in 2015, and toDon McKellar (The Red Violin,Highway 61) in 2016.[34]
Jewison was the Chair Emeritus of the CFC.[39]
Norman Jewison and Margaret Ann Dixon married on July 11, 1953. She died on November 26, 2004, the day following her 74th birthday, inOrangeville, Ontario, from cancer.[40][41] They had three children and five grandchildren.[12]
In recognition of his contributions to the arts, as well as his sustained support, Jewison was installed as Chancellor ofVictoria University in the University of Toronto in 2004;[42] he held the position until October 2010.[43]
In 2010,Blake Goldring donatedCA$1.0 million (equivalent to $1.4 million in 2025) toVictoria University at the University of Toronto to establish a specialised first-year liberal arts program in Jewison's name. The program began in September 2011, welcoming fewer than 30 select students into Norman Jewison Stream for Imagination and the Arts. Goldring is a 1981 graduate of the school.[44]
Also in 2010, Jewison married Lynne St. David, whom he had begun dating in 2008. However, Jewison reportedly carried on an affair with St. David while his first wife Dixie was still alive, and Dixie found out but did not have the strength to fight it.[45][46]
Norman Jewison died in hisMalibu home on January 20, 2024, at age 97.[47][48]
Jewison's $30 million estate was originally to be divided among his three children, however two months before his death the will was changed to give the bulk of his fortune to his second wife St. David. As a result, Jewison's children sued St. David, arguing that Jewison lacked the mental capacity to make financial decisions after suffering strokes in 2010 and that St. David exerted undue influence for her own gain and alleging that she had progressively cut him off from friends and family starting in 2010.[40] The legal disputes were settled through mediation.[49]
| Year | Title | Director | Producer | Writer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1962 | 40 Pounds of Trouble | Yes | No | No |
| 1963 | The Thrill of It All | Yes | No | No |
| 1964 | Send Me No Flowers | Yes | No | No |
| 1965 | The Art of Love | Yes | No | No |
| The Cincinnati Kid | Yes | No | No | |
| 1966 | The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming | Yes | Yes | No |
| 1967 | In the Heat of the Night | Yes | No | No |
| 1968 | The Thomas Crown Affair | Yes | Yes | No |
| 1969 | Gaily, Gaily | Yes | Yes | No |
| 1971 | Fiddler on the Roof | Yes | Yes | No |
| 1973 | Jesus Christ Superstar | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 1975 | Rollerball | Yes | Yes | No |
| 1978 | F.I.S.T. | Yes | Yes | No |
| 1979 | ...And Justice for All | Yes | Yes | No |
| 1982 | Best Friends | Yes | Yes | No |
| 1984 | A Soldier's Story | Yes | Yes | No |
| 1985 | Agnes of God | Yes | Yes | No |
| 1987 | Moonstruck | Yes | Yes | No |
| 1989 | In Country | Yes | Yes | No |
| 1991 | Other People's Money | Yes | Yes | No |
| 1994 | Only You | Yes | Yes | No |
| 1996 | Bogus | Yes | Yes | No |
| 1999 | The Hurricane | Yes | Yes | No |
| 2003 | The Statement | Yes | Yes | No |
Producer only
Executive producer
Acting roles
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | The Stupids | TV Director | |
| 1997 | An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn | Himself | Uncredited |
| Year | Title | Director | Producer | Executive Producer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1952 | Let's See | No | Yes | No | |
| 1952–53 | The Big Revue | Yes | No | Yes | |
| 1954 | On Stage | No | Yes | No | |
| The Denny Vaughan Show | Yes | No | No | ||
| 1955 | The Wayne and Shuster Show | Yes | No | No | |
| 1956–57 | The Barris Beat | Yes | Yes | No | |
| 1958 | The Adventures of Chich | Yes | No | No | |
| 1958–59 | Your Hit Parade | Yes | No | No | |
| 1959 | The Chevy Showroom Starring Andy Williams | Yes | No | No | |
| The Big Party | Yes | No | No | ||
| The Revlon Revue | Yes | Yes | No | ||
| 1963 | The Judy Garland Show | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| 1981 | The 53rd Academy Awards | No | Yes | No | ABC Awards ceremony |
| 1994–95 | Picture Windows | Yes | No | Yes | Directed 1 episode |
| 1996–98 | The Rez | No | No | Yes | 19 episodes |
TV specials
| Year | Title | Director | Producer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | The Fabulous Fifties | Yes | No |
| An Hour with Danny Kaye | Yes | No | |
| Belafonte, New York 19 | Yes | No | |
| 1961 | Bulova Watch Time with Pat Boone | Yes | No |
| 1962 | The Broadway of Lerner and Loewe | Yes | Yes |
TV movies
| Year | Title | Director | Producer | Executive Producer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | The Secret World of Eddie Hodges | Yes | Yes | No |
| 1961 | The Million Dollar Incident | Yes | No | No |
| 1993 | Geronimo | No | No | Yes |
| 2001 | Dinner with Friends | Yes | No | Yes |
| Walter and Henry | No | No | Yes |
Ref.:[54][55][56][57][58][59][60][61][62]
Jewison was nominated for theAcademy Award for Best Director three times in three separate decades forIn the Heat of the Night (1967),Fiddler on the Roof (1971) andMoonstruck (1987). He also won the prestigiousSilver Bear for Best Director at theBerlin Film Festival and earnedLifetime Achievement Awards from the Directors Guilds of bothCanada andAmerica. He also won aBAFTA Award. In 1981, he received the Order of Canada.
| Year | Work | Academy Awards | BAFTA Awards | Golden Globe Awards | Refs | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominations | Wins | Nominations | Wins | Nominations | Wins | |||
| 1965 | The Cincinnati Kid | 1 | [63] | |||||
| 1966 | The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming | 4 | 2 | 5 | 2 | [64][65][66] | ||
| 1967 | In the Heat of the Night | 7 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 3 | [67][68][69] |
| 1968 | The Thomas Crown Affair | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | [70][71][72] | |
| 1969 | Gaily, Gaily | 3 | [73] | |||||
| 1971 | Fiddler on the Roof | 8 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 2 | [74][75][76] | |
| 1973 | Jesus Christ Superstar | 1 | 4 | 1 | 6 | [77][78][79] | ||
| 1975 | Rollerball | 4 | 1 | [80] | ||||
| 1979 | ...And Justice for All | 2 | 1 | [81][82] | ||||
| 1982 | Best Friends | 1 | 1 | [83][84] | ||||
| 1984 | A Soldier's Story | 3 | 3 | [85][86] | ||||
| 1985 | Agnes of God | 3 | 2 | 1 | [87][88] | |||
| 1987 | Moonstruck | 6 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 2 | [89][90][91] | |
| 1989 | In Country | 1 | [92] | |||||
| 1999 | The Hurricane | 1 | 3 | 1 | [93][94] | |||
| Total | 41 | 12 | 22 | 4 | 41 | 12 | ||
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