Still Alice was filmmaker’s crowning achievement
LOS ANGELES — Richard Glatzer, who co-wrote and directed the Alzheimer’s drama Still Alice alongside his husband, Wash Westmoreland, while battling ALS, died Tuesday in Los Angeles. He was 63.
Glatzer was diagnosed in 2011 with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. He and Westmoreland took on the project of Still Alice in a very early stage of Glatzer’s disease.
During the 23-day shoot, Glatzer communicated with one finger using a text-to-speech app on his iPad. By the time of the press tour for the film in late 2014, Glatzer was able to communicate only by typing on the device with his big toe.
Their film earned star Julianne Moore her first Oscar for her portrayal of an academic suffering from early-onset Alzheimer’s. Unable to attend the ceremony, Glatzer watched Moore’s win Feb. 22 from a hospital, where he had been taken two days prior for respiratory problems. Westmoreland watched by his side.
“I am devastated. Rich was my soulmate, my collaborator, my best friend and my life,” Westmoreland said. He said he takes consolation in the fact that Glatzer saw Still Alice delivered to the world.
“Richard was a unique guy — opinionated, funny, caring, gregarious, generous and so, so smart. A true artist and a brilliant man. I treasure every day of the short 20 years we had together,” he said. “I cannot believe he has gone. But in my heart and the hearts of those who loved him he will always be alive.”
A New York native, Glatzer started out his career in academia, earning a doctorate in English from the University of Virginia before turning his attentions entirely to film and television.
He met Westmoreland in 1995. The couple collaborated on four films as co-writers and directors, including the 2006 Sundance grand jury prize and audience winner Quinceanera.
Glatzer also worked on a number of television shows, including Road Rules, Divorce Court and America’s Next Top Model.
But it was Still Alice that seemed to be Glatzer’s crowning achievement.
The parallels between Glatzer and their lead character’s degenerative diseases helped to inform the adaptation of author Lisa Genova’s bestseller.