newsmakers
newsmakers
Producer Richard Zanuck dies at 77
LOS ANGELES
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 Friday. 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.”
‘Green Mile’ star has heart attack
LOS ANGELES
“The Green Mile” star Michael Clarke Duncan has been hospitalized in Los Angeles after suffering a heart attack.
Publicist Joy Fehily says in a brief email statement that the 54-year-old actor “suffered a myocardial infarction” early Friday.
She says his heart rate has stabilized and he’s expected to make a full recovery.
Fehily wouldn’t confirm a TMZ.com report that Duncan’s actress- girlfriend, Youngstown native Omarosa Manigault-Stallworth, discovered the former bodyguard in distress about 2 a.m. Friday in his Los Angeles area home and revived him by performing CPR. Representatives for the actress didn’t immediately respond to requests by The Associated Press for comment.
Besides “The Green Mile,” Duncan appeared in the films “The Scorpion King,” “Armageddon,” “Breakfast of Champions,” “The Whole Nine Yards” and “Sin City.”
Stallworth has appeared on TV’s “The Apprentice,” “Fear Factor” and “Girls Behaving Badly.”
Vindicator wire services