‘Silence of the Lambs’ director, dead at 73

NEW YORK >> Jonathan Demme, the eclectic, everenthusiastic filmmaker behind the Oscar winners “The Silence of the Lambs” and “Philadelphia,” and the director of one of the most seminal concert films ever made, the Talking Heads’ “Stop Making Sense,” has died. He was 73.

Demme’s publicist, Annalee Paulo, said Demme died Wednesday morning in his New York apartment, surrounded by his wife, Joanna, and three children. Demme died from complications from esophageal cancer, she said.

Demme broke into moviemaking under the Bmovie master Roger Corman in the early 1970s. “The Silence of the Lambs,” the 1991 thriller starring Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter and Jodie Foster as an FBI analyst, brought him a new level of fame. The film earned him a directing Oscar, as well as best picture. Hopkins and Foster also earned best acting trophies for their roles.

“The Silence of the Lambs,” however, was an outlier in his filmography, which was scattered across comedy, drama and music. His screwball comedy “Something Wild” starred Jeff Bridges and Melanie Griffith. The 1993 film “Philadelphia,” with Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington, was one of the first major Hollywood films to confront the AIDS crisis.

Demme last year released his latest concert film, “Justin Timberlake and the Tennessee Kids,” on Netflix. Timberlake, a passionate fan of 1984’s “Stop Making Sense,” sought out Demme to direct it.

Demme made numerous films with Neil Young (“Heart of Gold,” ‘’ Neil Young Trunk Show,” ‘’Neil Young Journeys”) as well as a documentary of Spalding Grey’s monologues (“Swimming in Cambodia”) and a film with the singer-songwriter Robyn Hitchcock (“Storefront Hitchcock”).

REED SAXON — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS In this file photo, director Jonathan Demme, left, holds his award for best director, actress Jodie Foster holds her award for best actress, and actor Anthony Hopkins holds his award for best actor for their work on “Silence of the Lambs,” at the...