Mark Rydell, an Oscar-nominated director known for films like “The Rose,” “For the Boys” and “On Golden Pond” has died. He was 97.
Bette Midler, who starred in “The Rose” and “For the Boys” for the director, shared the news on Instagram Friday. A cause of death was not given.
“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,’” Midler said of his passing.
She continued: “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. RIP.”
Rydell built a career directing actors through some of their most memorable performances. His 1979 musical drama “The Rose,” loosely inspired by the life of Janis Joplin, starred Midler as a self-destructive rock singer struggling with addiction and the demands of fame. The film earned four Academy Award nominations, including a best actress nod for Midler and a supporting actor nomination for Frederic Forrest.
Two years later, Rydell made the film that would become his signature achievement: “On Golden Pond.” The 1981 drama starred Henry Fonda as Norman Thayer, an aging professor spending a summer at a New England lake house with his wife, Ethel, played by Katharine Hepburn, and their daughter, Chelsea, played by Jane Fonda.
Rydell received his sole Oscar nomination for best director. The movie also marked Henry Fonda’s final film role.
Rydell’s path to directing was unconventional. Born Mortimer H. Rydell in New York, he initially studied music and worked as a jazz pianist before turning toward acting. He studied at the Neighborhood Playhouse under Sanford Meisner and subsequently became a working actor, including a six-year run on the daytime soap opera “As the World Turns.”
At the same time he directed episodes of numerous television series in the 1960s before making his feature directing debut with 1967’s “The Fox,” an adaptation of D.H. Lawrence’s novella.
His subsequent filmography included directing Steve McQueen in “The Reivers,” John Wayne in “The Cowboys,” James Caan in “Cinderella Liberty” and “Harry and Walter Go to New York,” and later Mel Gibson and Sissy Spacek in “The River.” He reunited with Midler for 1991’s “For the Boys,” which earned her another Oscar nomination.
Rydell continued working in television and film into the 2000s. His television credits included the 1996 miniseries “Crime of the Century” and the 2001 television movie “James Dean,” which starred James Franco as the legendary actor. Rydell’s final feature as a director was the 2006 gambling drama “Even Money” starring Forest Whitaker, Danny DeVito and Ray Liotta
Rydell was also active in the Directors Guild of America.
He is survived by three children, Amy, Christopher and Alexander.
