Walter Mirisch

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.

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 Year Title Notes 1958 Fort Massacre producer Man of the West producer 1959 The Gunfight at Dodge City producer The Man in the Net producer Cast a Long Shadow producer 1960 The Magnificent Seven executive producer 1961 By Love Possessed producer West Side Story executive producer (uncredited) The Children's Hour executive producer (uncredited) 1962 Follow That Dream executive producer (uncreated) Kid Galahad executive producer (uncredited) Two for the Seesaw producer 1963 The Great Escape executive producer (uncredited) Toys in the Attic producer The Pink Panther executive producer (uncredited) 1964 633 Squadron executive producer (uncredited) A Shot in the Dark executive producer (uncredited) 1966 The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming producer (uncredited) Hawaii producer 1967 How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying executive producer (uncredited) In the Heat of the Night producer Fitzwilly producer 1968 The Party executive producer (uncredited) The Thomas Crown Affair executive producer (uncredited) 1969 Sinful Davey executive producer Some Kind of a Nut producer 1970 Halls of Anger executive producer The Landlord executive producer (uncredited) The Hawaiians producer They Call Me Mister Tibbs! executive producer 1971 The Organization producer Fiddler on the Roof executive producer (uncredited) 1973 Scorpio producer 1974 The Spikes Gang producer Mr. Majestyk producer 1976 Midway producer 1978 Gray Lady Down producer Same Time, Next Year producer 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