Charles Shyer, the Oscar-nominated writer-director who worked with then-wife Nancy Meyers on several films, including “Father of the Bride,” “Baby Boom,” “Irreconcilable Differences,” “The Parent Trap,” and “Private Benjamin,” died Friday in Los Angeles following a brief illness. He was 83.
Shyer was nominated for an Oscar for the 1980 comedy “Private Benjamin” starring Goldie Hawn. Shyer and Meyers co-wrote the movie with Harvey Miller. Shyer and Meyers married in 1990 and enjoyed a prolific personal and professional partnership.
The pair divorced in 1999 and Shyer went on to write, direct and produce Jude Law’s “Alfie” remake. In an interview with Cinema.com, Shyer admitted, “I’ve been like that kind of guy, like Alfie. But I think what changed me was that it was a road to nowhere and that’s what you realize ultimately. But to really love and count on somebody is a hard thing, because it means you have to trust them, and that’s difficult to do.”
Shyer pointed to the period following his divorce from Meyers as his own “Alfie” experience. He used some of his own past behavior for the character. Shyer said, “My whole thing was that I never wanted to be alone for the holidays – but then after a while, it was like, ‘but I don’t even know this person, what am I doing?’ And I used that in the film because Alfie doesn’t want to be alone then either.”
In 2022, Shyer told Meet Cute that he was inspired to work in movies after working as Garry Marshall’s assistant. “I basically was just a guy who got his car washed, did his Christmas shopping, got him Fudgsicles, brought him lunch, and got to hang around him. He encouraged me to sit in the story meetings. If I had, what I assumed was most likely a bad idea, I would reluctantly share it with Garry after the meeting, and he would say, ‘That’s not a bad idea, Chuck— speak up!’”
Marshall, he continued, was the person who told him he could be a writer. “He nurtured me and helped me learn how to do it; he was my mentor…. and that was an incredibly lucky twist of fate,” Shyer added.
Charles Shyer was born in Los Angeles, California on October 11, 1941. Both his parents worked in the film industry and he attended school at UCLA. Following graduation, he participated in the Directors Guild of America apprenticeship program. He married three times: first to Diana Ewing, then to Nancy Meyers, and for a third time to Deborah Lynn. He is survived by four children.
