Happy 94th Birthday, Norman Jewison! Born today in 1926 as Norman Frederick Jewison, this retired Canadian actor, producer and film director is also the founder of the Canadian Film Centre.
While growing up in the 1930s in Toronto, Ontario, Jewison displayed an aptitude for performing and theatre. Jewison is often mistaken for being Jewish due to his surname, but he and his family are in fact Protestant.
Years later, he later served in the Royal Canadian Navy from 1944–45 during World War II. After being discharged, he travelled in the American South, where he encountered segregation, an experience that would influence his later work.
A few years later, Jewison attended Victoria College in the University of Toronto. As a student, he was involved in acting, writing, directing in various theatrical productions.
Following graduation, he moved to London, England, United Kingdom, where he worked sporadically as a script writer for a children's television program and bit part actor for the BBC while supporting himself with odd jobs.
Out of work in Britain in late 1951, he later returned to Canada to become a production trainee at CBLT in Toronto, which was preparing for the launch of CBC Television. When CBC Television went on the air in the fall of 1952, Jewison was an assistant director.
During the next seven years he wrote, produced and directed a wide variety of musicals, comedy-variety shows, dramas, and specials.
This included the Canadian variety television show The Big Revue (1952–53), the American premium cable and satellite television network Showtime and Canadian variety television show The Barris Beat (1956–57).
In 1953, Jewison married American former model Margaret Ann "Dixie" Dixon. They would later have three children together of whom would all pursue careers in the entertainment industry: Michael (film producer), Kevin (cinematographer), and Jennifer (actress).
In 1958, Jewison was recruited to work for NBC in New York, where his first assignment was the American radio and television music program Your Hit Parade (1932–53), followed by the American television variety show The Andy Williams Show (1962–71).
The success of these shows led to directing specials featuring performers such as Harry Belafonte, Jackie Gleason, and Danny Kaye.
The television production that proved pivotal to Jewison's career was the Judy Garland "comeback" special that aired in 1961, which included Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin, and led to a weekly show that Jewison was later called in to direct.
Visiting the studio during rehearsal for the special, Tony Curtis suggested to Jewison that he should direct a feature film.
Jewison's career as a film director began with the 1962 American Eastmancolor comedy/screwball comedy film '40 Pounds of Trouble', starring Curtis. The next three films Jewison directed included two with Doris Day.
However, his breakthrough feature was the 1965 American Metrocolor drama film 'The Cincinnati Kid'.
Starring Steve McQueen, the film is now considered one of the finest films made about gambling. Jewison considers it one of his personal favourites because it was his first challenging drama.
This success of 'The Cincinnati Kid' was followed up one year later with the 1966 American DeLuxe Color comedy film 'The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming'; a satire on Cold War paranoia.
It was the first film Jewison also produced, and it was later nominated for four Oscars at the 39th Academy Awards, including Best Picture. This occurred in mid-April 1967.
Jewison felt that doing "a plea for coexistence, or the absurdity of international conflict was important right at that moment". While reactions to 'Russians' was positive, Jewison was labeled as "a Canadian pinko" by right-wing commentators.
Continuing the string of successes was one of the films that Jewison has become closely identified with and also the film of which he is best known.
This was the 1967 American mystery/crime drama film 'In the Heat of the Night'. The film is one of the most enduring Hollywood films of the civil rights era.
The feature emits a career-defining display of seething indignation and moral authority.
This was with the help of American cinematographer, film producer and director Haskell Wexler’s vivid cinematography and African-American record producer, multi-instrumentalist, singer and film producer Quincy Jones’ eclectic score.
'In the Heat of the Night' had been based on American writer John Ball's 1965 mystery thriller crime fiction novel of the same name.
The following year, the film won five Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Actor (Rod Steiger) Best Writing Adapted Screenplay, Best Film Editing (Hal Ashby) and Best Sound Mixing. This occurred at the 40th Academy Awards in mid-April 1968.
The film's Oscar-winning editor Ashby would later go on to be a part of the New Hollywood wave of filmmaking His best-known features include 'Harold and Maude' and 'Being There'.
While Jewison was working on 'In the Heat of the Night', American politician and lawyer Robert F. Kennedy told the director that this could be "a very important film. Timing is everything".
Kennedy reminded Jewison of that prediction a year and a half later when he presented him with the Critics' Choice Movie Award for best drama.
Jewison has addressed important social and political issues throughout his filmmaking career, often making controversial or complicated subjects accessible to mainstream audiences.
To date, more than one thousand seven hundred alumni and one hundred alumni companies have come out of CFC’s programs.
As a follow-up to 'In the Heat of the Night' Jewison directed and produced another film with Steve McQueen, most notably being the 1968 American neo noir crime/romance drama film 'The Thomas Crown Affair'.
For the film, Jewison used innovative multiple screen images. From that point on, he produced all of the feature films that he directed.
'The Thomas Crown Affair' was nominated for two Oscars, winning Best Original Song for French musical composer, arranger, conductor, and jazz pianist Michel Legrand's "The Windmills of your Mind". This occurred at the 41st Academy Awards in mid-April 1969.
At Pinewood Studios northwest of London, and on location in Yugoslavia, Jewison directed the three-hour 1971 American musical comedy-drama film 'Fiddler on the Roof', of which was later re-issued in 1979.
The film is based on leading Yiddish author and playwright Sholem Aleichem's Tevye and his Daughters (or Tevye the Dairyman and other tales.
The following year, 'Fiddler' won three Oscars and was nominated for five others, including Best Picture and best Director. This occurred 44th Academy Awards in mid-April 1972.
During the early 1980, Jewison produced the 53rd Academy Awards in in late March 1981. However, the event was slated to air the day 40th U.S. President Ronald Reagan was shot and had to be rescheduled.
Revisiting the theme of racial tension that had characterized 'In the Heat of the Night', Jewison's directed 1984 American drama film 'A Soldier's Story'. The film had been adapted by African-American playwright Charles Fuller from his Pulitzer Prize-winning Off Broadway production.
The following year, the film lost to Czech-American film director, screenwriter, actor, and professor Miloš Forman's 1984 American period drama/comedy drama film 'Amadeus'. This occurred at the 57th Academy Awards in late March 1985.
Two years later, Jewison's next feature proved to be one of the most popular romantic films ever made and also the second film of which Jewison is best known. This was the 1987 American romantic drama/comedy 'Moonstruck'.
The film was a box office hit. On a budget of $15 million, 'Moonstruck had grossed $80.6 million at the box office.
The following year, the film won three Oscars. This was for Best Actress (Cher), Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Olympia Dukakis) and Best Original Screenplay. this occurred ahh the 60th Academy Awards in mid-April 1988.
In the late 1990s, American filmmaker John McTiernan (‘Die Hard’) remade Jewison's film by directing the 1999 American crime/romance thriller film ‘The Thomas Crown Affair’. It starred Pierce Brosnan and Faye Dunaway with music by Bill Conti.
In 2002, 'In the Heat of the Night' was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
In 2003, Jewison received the Governor General's Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement for his multiple contributions to the film industry in Canada.
On AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes, "They call me Mister Tibbs!" ranked in at #16 and "Snap out of it!" ranked it at #96.
On January 30, 2010, Jewison received a lifetime achievement award from the Directors Guild of America at the 62nd Annual DGA Awards. This was held at the Century Plaza in Los Angeles, California.
Jewison had been active from 1950–2003.
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