Oscar-winning producer Richard Zanuck dead at 77

Oscar-winning producer Richard Zanuck dead at 77

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Film producer Richard Zanuck, 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 today. He was 77.

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. “The Sting” also won the best movie Oscar, although Zanuck and Brown were not listed as its producers. “Jaws” was nominated for best picture, as was the Zanuck-produced “The Verdict.”