Director Jonathan Demme dies at 73
Won Oscar for ‘Silence of the Lambs’
Director Jonathan Demme, who died yesterday in his Manhattan apartment at the age of 73, will always be remembered for “The Silence of the Lambs.”
A horror film about the psychological duel between Hannibal the Cannibal, a brilliant imprisoned serial killer, and rookie female FBI agent Clarice Starling, this 1991 classic stunned Hollywood even as it ushered in sequels and spin-offs.
“Silence” became only the third film in Oscar history to win all five main categories: best picture, best actor Anthony Hopkins, best actress Jodie Foster, adapted acreenplay Ted Tally and for Demme, best director.
The others were “It Happened One Night” (’34) and “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” (’75).
Genuinely nice and caring in a business known for its often cutthroat bottom-line attitude, Demme began directing movies in the Roger Corman school of super cheap indie filmmaking in the ’70s. His first directing credit was on the less-thanmemorable but memorably titled “Caged Heat” women-inprison picture.
By the early ’80s he was earning critical notice for his idiosyncratic handling of familiar genres and the indelible performances he got from his casts.
Mary Steenburgen won a best supporting actress Oscar for “Melvin and Howard” (’80). Tom Hanks grabbed a best actor Oscar for “Philadelphia” (’93). Melanie Griffith in “Something Wild” (’86), Michelle Pfeiffer in “Married to the Mob” (’88) and Anne Hathaway in “Rachel Getting Married” (2008) had career-defining roles in Demme films.
Stung by the gay community’s attacks on “Silence” — which accused the film of being homophobic for its unlikely transgender serial killer Buffalo Bill — Demme made amends and battled Hollywood homophobia to make “Philadelphia,” the first major studio release about AIDS — and a box-office hit.
Versatile in his subject matter, Demme was also a distinguished documentarian, whether profiling his “Cousin Bobby,” an Episcopalian minister in Harlem; the Talking Heads in “Stop Making Sense”; Neil Young, Justin Timberlake or a Haitian human rights activist.
Demme’s ear was celebrated as well. His eclectic soundtracks and scores were in some cases — like “The Truth About Charlie” — much better than the actual film.
His final assignments were for TV with an episode last night of Fox’s comic series “Shots Fired” and an upcoming Netflix series, “Seven Seconds.”
Demme disclosed that he had been diagnosed with cancer in 2015. He is survived by his wife, Joanne Howard, an artist, and three children, Ramona, Brooklyn and Jos.