Walter Mirisch
| Walter Mirisch | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Walter Mortimer Mirisch November 8, 1921 New York City |
| Occupation | Film producer |
Walter Mortimer Mirisch (born November 8, 1921) is an American film producer. He is President and Executive Head of Production of The Mirisch Corporation, an independent film production company, which he formed in 1957 with his brothers, Marvin and Harold. He won the Academy Award for Best Picture as producer of In the Heat of the Night (1967).
Born to a Jewish family in New York, Mirisch graduated from DeWitt Clinton High School and entered the movie business as a summer vacation usher in Jersey City's State Theater, soon moving up to higher positions at other theaters. In 1942, he received a BA degree from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and the following year graduated from Harvard's Graduate School of Business Administration. He produced his first film, Fall Guy (1947) for Monogram Pictures.
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 produce Flat Top, Wichita, which received a Golden Globe from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association as Best Outdoor Drama of 1955, The First Texan, and An Annapolis Story. He supervised the productions of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Friendly Persuasion, and Love in the Afternoon, among many others.
Mirisch heads that category of creative producers who have learned their craft thoroughly from the very inception of a project through all phases of its production process. Known in the industry as a perfectionist, he supervises every detail of his films from the earliest stages to the final release.
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