Oscar-Nominated Director Dies at 97

Mark Rydell, the director behind On Golden Pond, For the Boys, and The Rose, died Friday. The news broke via a tribute to the Oscar-nominated director from collaborator Bette Midler, who posted it on her Instagram. “Mark Rydell, the director or my first film, ‘The Rose,’ died this morning. He was an actor of note before he became a director, and I was so lucky to have met him when I did; he taught me so much on ‘The Rose’ and later on ‘For The Boys.’ Two Oscars nominations both because of him. He was the actor’s whisperer; just a few words was all it took to understand what was needed. Devoted to Meisner. So many happy memories.” Rydell worked with many big Hollywood names during his career, including Steve McQueen, John Wayne, and Isabella Rossellini. As an actor, he found fame on As the World Turns, and appeared in Robert Altman’s The Long Goodbye and Woody Allen’s Hollywood Ending. Seven of his films were Oscar-nominated, with On Golden Pond earning him a nomination for Best Director and Best Picture. The movie earned Best Actor and Best Actress wins for its stars, Henry Fonda and Katharine Hepburn.

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