Walter Mortimer Mirisch (November 8, 1921 – February 24, 2023) was an American film producer. He was the president and executive head of production ofThe Mirisch Corporation, an independent filmproduction company which he formed in 1957 with his brother,Marvin, and half-brother,Harold.^[1] He won theAcademy Award for Best Picture as producer ofIn the Heat of the Night (1967).^[2][3]

Born to a Jewish family^[4] in New York,^[5] Mirisch was the youngest of three sons born to Josephine Frances (née Urbach) and Max Mirisch.^[6] His siblings included film producer Marvin.^[7][8] His father emigrated from Kraków, Poland in 1891 at the age of 17, arriving in New York City where he worked as a tailor.^[5] His mother was the daughter of immigrants from Hungary and Poland.^[5] His father was previously married to Flora Glasshut with whom he had two sons; she died of cancer at the age of 40.^[5] Walter Mirisch graduated fromDeWitt Clinton High School. He was a summer vacation usher inJersey City's State Theater, his first job associated with the movie business. He soon moved up to higher positions at other theaters.

Aheart murmur kept him from joining theNavy, but Mirisch was still eager to serve his country duringWorld War II. He moved to Burbank, California, to work at a bomber-plane plant, where he wrote technical articles, sharing knowledge with other military manufacturers.^[9] After the war ended Mirisch immediately turned his attention back to his original passion, the movies. In 1942, he received a BA degree from theUniversity of Wisconsin–Madison and the next year he graduated from Harvard's Graduate School of Business Administration.^[10] He produced his first film,Fall Guy (1947), forMonogram Pictures.^[10]

At the age of 29, Mirisch became production head at Allied Artists Studio, initially only a division of Monogram, with some 30 films to oversee. During his tenure, he found time to personally produceFlat Top (1952),Wichita (1955), which received aGolden Globe Award from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association as Best Outdoor Drama of 1955,The First Texan (1956), andAn Annapolis Story (1955). Among other films, he supervised the productions ofInvasion of the Body Snatchers,Friendly Persuasion (both 1956), and theBilly Wilder-directedLove in the Afternoon (1957).

Mirisch headed that category of creative producers who learned their craft thoroughly from the very inception of a project through all phases of its production process.^{[citation needed]} Known in the industry as a perfectionist, he supervised every detail of his films from the earliest stages to the final release.

The Mirisch Company was founded in 1957.^[11] It produced 68 films for United Artists, including three that won the Academy Award for Best Picture, namelyThe Apartment (1960),West Side Story (1961) andIn the Heat of the Night (1967), which also won four other Oscars.^[6][3] Among the most noteworthy Mirisch projects that Walter personally produced are:Man of the West (1958);The Magnificent Seven (1960);Two for the Seesaw (1962);Toys in the Attic (1963); the film version ofJames A. Michener's monumental novel,Hawaii (1966), which was nominated for seven Oscars, and its sequel,The Hawaiians (1970);Midway (1976), the saga of America's greatest naval victory; the tender and movingSame Time, Next Year (1978); andRomantic Comedy (1983).

For theNBC television network, Mirisch was executive producer ofWichita Town with Joel McCrea (1959–1960),Peter Loves Mary (1960–1961),Desperado;Return of Desperado;Desperado: Avalanche At Devil’s Ridge;Desperado: Legacy;Desperado: Sole Survivor; and in 1993,Troubleshooters: Trapped Beneath The Earth. Mirisch was executive producer ofLily in Winter for theUSA Network in 1994,A Class for Life forABC in 1995, as well asThe Magnificent Seven, a weekly series forCBS in 1997.

Ron Howard said of Mirisch, "FromBomba, the Jungle Boy toSome Like It Hot andIn the Heat of the Night ... Walter Mirisch produced many of the films which dazzled and inspired me (and I'm not kidding aboutBomba. I loved those movies as a kid). When I later acted in one of his (lesser) productions,The Spikes Gang, I learned that a prolific and brilliant producer could also be a terrific guy and a wonderful teacher."^[5]

Mirisch received the 1967 Academy Award for Best Picture for his production ofIn the Heat of the Night.^[3]

Throughout the years he was the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including The Producer of the Year Award: first, from theProducers' Guild of America (1967); later, the National Association of Theatre Owners (1972); and then ShowaRama (1975).

In addition, he received theCecil B. DeMille Award of theHollywood Foreign Press Association for "outstanding contribution to the entertainment field" (1976), theIrving G. Thalberg Memorial Award of theAcademy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for his "consistently high quality of motion picture production (1978), and the Academy'sJean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, which is given to an individual whose "humanitarian efforts have brought credit to the industry" (1983).

Mirisch served three terms as president of theProducers Guild of America. He served four terms as President of theAcademy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. He was a former president and Governor of the Performing Arts Council of the Los Angeles Music Center, as well as a trustee of theMotion Picture and Television Fund. Mirisch was also an Emeritus member of the board of directors ofCedars-Sinai Medical Center of Los Angeles, and the board of directors of theUCLA Foundation.

He was decorated by the Republic of France with its Order of Arts and Letters in 1961.

In May 1989, he received an honorary doctorate in Humane Letters from theUniversity of Wisconsin–Madison. In June 1989, he was the recipient of theUCLA Medal, the university's highest award.

In 2004, he was honored with a retrospective at theLos Angeles County Museum of Art entitled "The Magnificent Mirisches".The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York honored him in 2006 with a retrospective of twelve films.

On February 2, 2008, Mirisch presented theDarryl F. Zanuck Producer of the Year award at the 19th AnnualProducers Guild of America Awards. The top honor (the equivalent of the Academy Award for Best Picture) went toScott Rudin,Joel and Ethan Coen forNo Country for Old Men.

Mirisch was married to Patricia Kahan (1924–2005); they had three children.^[12][4]

Mirisch turned 100 on November 8, 2021,^[13] and died of natural causes in Los Angeles on February 24, 2023, at the age of 101.^[14][15][16]

• Mirisch, Walter (2008).I Thought We Were Making Movies, Not History. Madison, Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin Press.ISBN 978-0-299-22640-4.

• Jeanine Basinger (2008)."Walter Mirisch".filmreference. RetrievedJanuary 8, 2009.

• Walter Mirisch Papers^{[permanent dead link]} at theWisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research.
• Walter Mirisch atIMDb
• Walter Mirisch at theTCM Movie Database
• Walter Mirisch discography atDiscogs
• Walter Mirisch Movie Scores Collection is archived at theAmerican Heritage Center,University of Wyoming.

• 1921 births
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