Norman Jewison

Norman Frederick Jewison (July 21, 1926 - January 20, 2024) was a celebrated Canadian filmmaker. He was noted for directing films which addressed topical social and political issues, advocating controversial or complicated subjects for mainstream audiences. Jewison was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director three times across three separate decades for 'In the Heat of the Night' (1967), 'Fiddler on the Roof' (1971), and 'Moonstruck' (1987). He received further nominations for four Oscars, three Golden Globe Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award, and won a BAFTA Award. The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences awarded him the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award in 1999.

Born and raised in Toronto, Jewison began his film career at CBC Television in the 1950s, later moving to the United States to work at NBC. His feature film debut came in 1962 with the comedy '40 Pounds of Trouble', marking the start of an over forty-year directorial career in motion pictures. His notable films include 'The Cincinnati Kid' (1965), 'The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming' (1966), 'The Thomas Crown Affair' (1968), 'Jesus Christ Superstar' (1973), and 'The Hurricane' (1999). Jewison founded the Canadian Film Centre in 1988, and in 2003, received the Governor General's Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement given his multiple contributions to Canada's film industry.