Richard D. Zanuck Dead at 77

Richard D. Zanuck Dead at 77

In the 1960s Zanuck became the head of production at 20th Century Fox at the tender age of 28. One year of his tenure, 1967, is chronicled in the John Gregory Dunne book The Studio. Some disastrous failures that year, like Doctor Dolittle, caused him to be fired by his own father, Darryl, head of the studio. He then joined Warner as Executive Vice President and later formed his own Zanuck/Brown Company, which produced many successful films. He was especially well known for his work with Spielberg and Tim Burton.

Zanuck, in partnership with his wife Lili, also produced one of the few Oscar telecasts to be worth watching, the 2000 ceremony, which featured suggestive material from American Beauty, as well as Robin Williams singing "Blame Canada." It was the first Oscar telecast to be rated TV-14, and the first to be filmed in HD.