28 Facts About Norman Jewison

Norman Jewison was known for directing films which addressed topical social and political issues, often making controversial or complicated subjects accessible to mainstream audiences.

Norman Jewison was nominated for an additional four Oscars, three Golden Globe Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award, and won a BAFTA Award.

Norman Jewison received the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences's Irving G Thalberg Memorial Award in 1999.

Norman Jewison made his feature film debut in 1962, with the comedy 40 Pounds of Trouble, and embarked on a motion picture directing career that spanned over 40 years.

Norman Jewison was Chancellor of Victoria University in the University of Toronto, his alma mater, from 2004 until 2010.

Norman Jewison was born in Toronto, Ontario, the son of Dorothy Irene and Percy Joseph Norman Jewison, who managed a convenience store and post office.

Norman Jewison attended Kew Beach School and Malvern Collegiate Institute, and while growing up in the 1930s displayed an aptitude for performing and theatre.

Norman Jewison was often mistaken for being Jewish due to his surname and direction of Fiddler on the Roof, but Jewison and his family are Protestants of English descent.

Norman Jewison served in the Royal Canadian Navy during World War II, and after being discharged travelled in the American South, where he encountered segregation, an experience that influenced his later work.

When CBC Television went on the air in the fall of 1952, Norman Jewison was an assistant director.

In 1958 Norman Jewison was recruited to work for NBC in New York, where his first assignment was Your Hit Parade, followed by The Andy Williams Show.

The television production that proved pivotal to Norman 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 Norman Jewison was later called in to direct.

Curtleigh Productions' contract with Norman Jewison had a negotiable option for further films if the initial picture was successful.

In early October 1962, Norman Jewison formed his own independent film production company, Simkoe Productions, and signed a two-picture deal with Curtis' new film production company, Curtis Enterprises, as well as an additional two-picture deal with Universal-International Pictures.

Norman Jewison made two comedies starring Doris Day: The Thrill of It All, released in 1963 and co-starring James Garner, and Send Me No Flowers, released in 1964 and co-starring Rock Hudson.

Norman Jewison felt that doing "a plea for coexistence, or the absurdity of international conflict was important right at that moment".

From that point Norman Jewison produced all feature films he directed, often with associate Patrick Palmer, and he acted as producer for films directed by others, beginning with his former film editor Hal Ashby's directorial debut The Landlord.

In 1978 Norman Jewison returned to Canada, settling in the Caledon area in Ontario and establishing a farm that produced prizewinning cattle, as well as maple syrup.

Norman Jewison continued directing and producing up until his last film to be released, the 2003 thriller The Statement, based on a novel by Brian Moore starring Michael Caine.

Norman Jewison was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Television Movie.

Each year in Los Angeles, Norman Jewison bestowed the CFC Award for Creative Excellence to CFC alumni in recognition of their outstanding work and contributions to the screen-based entertainment industry.

Norman Jewison presented the inaugural award to CFC alumna Semi Chellas in 2014, to Graeme Manson and John Fawcett in 2015, and to Don McKellar in 2016.

Norman Jewison died on November 26,2004, the day following her 74th birthday, in Orangeville, Ontario, from undisclosed causes.

In recognition of his contributions to the arts, as well as his sustained support, Norman Jewison was installed as Chancellor of Victoria University in the University of Toronto in 2004; he held the position until October 2010.

Also in 2010, Norman Jewison married Lynne St David, whom he had begun dating in 2008.

Norman Jewison died in his Malibu home on January 20,2024, at age 97.

Norman Jewison was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director three times in three separate decades for In the Heat of the Night, Fiddler on the Roof and Moonstruck.

Norman Jewison won the prestigious Silver Bear for Best Director at the Berlin Film Festival and earned Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Directors Guilds of both Canada and America.