Walter Mortimer Mirisch (November 8, 1921 – February 24, 2023) was an American film producer. He was the president and executive head of production of The Mirisch Corporation, an independent film production company which he formed in 1957 with his brother, Marvin, and half-brother, Harold. He won the Academy Award for Best Picture as producer of In the Heat of the Night (1967).

Life and career

Early years

Born to a Jewish family in New York, Mirisch was the youngest of three sons born to Josephine Frances (née Urbach) and Max Mirisch. His siblings included film producer Marvin. His father emigrated from Kraków, Poland in 1891 at the age of 17, arriving in New York City where he worked as a tailor. After the war ended Mirisch immediately turned his attention back to his original passion, the movies. In 1942, he received a BA degree from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and the next year he graduated from Harvard's Graduate School of Business Administration. He produced his first film, Fall Guy (1947), for Monogram Pictures. It produced 68 films for United Artists, including three that won the Academy Award for Best Picture, namely The Apartment (1960), West Side Story (1961) and In the Heat of the Night (1967), which also won four other Oscars. and died of natural causes in Los Angeles on February 24, 2023, at the age of 101.

Selected filmography

{| class="wikitable sortable"

|-

! Year

! Title

! Notes

|-

|rowspan="2"| 1958 || Fort Massacre || producer

|-

| Man of the West || producer

|-

|rowspan="3"| 1959 || The Gunfight at Dodge City || producer

|-

| The Man in the Net || producer

|-

| Cast a Long Shadow || producer

|-

| 1960 || The Magnificent Seven || executive producer

|-

|rowspan="3"| 1961 || By Love Possessed || producer

|-

| West Side Story || executive producer (uncredited)

|-

| The Children's Hour || executive producer (uncredited)

|-

|rowspan="3"| 1962 || Follow That Dream || executive producer (uncreated)

|-

| Kid Galahad || executive producer (uncredited)

|-

| Two for the Seesaw || producer

|-

|rowspan="3"| 1963 || The Great Escape || executive producer (uncredited)

|-

| Toys in the Attic || producer

|-

| The Pink Panther || executive producer (uncredited)

|-

|rowspan="2"| 1964 || 633 Squadron || executive producer (uncredited)

|-

| A Shot in the Dark || executive producer (uncredited)

|-

|rowspan="2"| 1966 || The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming || producer (uncredited)

|-

| Hawaii || producer

|-

|rowspan="3"| 1967 || How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying || executive producer (uncredited)

|-

| In the Heat of the Night || producer

|-

| Fitzwilly || producer

|-

|rowspan="2"| 1968 || The Party || executive producer (uncredited)

|-

| The Thomas Crown Affair || executive producer (uncredited)

|-

|rowspan="2"| 1969 || Sinful Davey || executive producer

|-

| Some Kind of a Nut || producer

|-

|rowspan="4"| 1970 || Halls of Anger || executive producer

|-

| The Landlord || executive producer (uncredited)

|-

| The Hawaiians || producer

|-

| They Call Me Mister Tibbs! || executive producer

|-

|rowspan="2"| 1971 || The Organization || producer

|-

| Fiddler on the Roof || executive producer (uncredited)

|-

| 1973 || Scorpio || producer

|-

|rowspan="2"| 1974 || The Spikes Gang || producer

|-

| Mr. Majestyk || producer

|-

| 1976 || Midway || producer

|-

|rowspan="2"| 1978 || Gray Lady Down || producer

|-

| Same Time, Next Year || producer

|-

|rowspan="2"| 1979 || Dracula || producer

|-

| The Prisoner of Zenda || producer

|-

| 1983 || Romantic Comedy || producer

|-

| 1993–1996 || The Pink Panther || executive producer

|-

| 2010 || Pink Panther and Pals || executive producer

|-

| 2016 || The Magnificent Seven || executive producer

|}

Bibliography

References

  • Walter Mirisch Papers at the Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research.
  • Walter Mirisch Movie Scores Collection is archived at the American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.