OBITUARY: TOM SHERAK

Hollywood is mourning the loss of Tom Sherak, the industry executive and philanthropist whose reputation as one of the cutthroat LA industry’s nicest men was beyond reproach. Passing away on Tuesday at the age of 68, Sherak’s death was not sudden, as he had been bravely fighting prostate cancer for over a decade; his family and friends were gathered for his final moments at his home in Calabasas, California. But the industry grief is profound, a testament to the legacy that Sherak left behind after five decades in ‘the biz’. SCREEN-SPACE honours the man with a look at the defining moments of Tom Sherak’s career…

THE 20^TH CENTURY FOX YEARS: Sherak served under the legendary Robert Evan’s in Paramount’s distribution division in the early 1970s (upon hearing of Sherak’s passing, Evan’s tweeted, “He singularly raised the bar of integrity with those of us who were lucky enough to know him. What a fine human being.") before a stint as chief film buyer for General Cinema. But it would be Sherak’s ascension through the corporate ranks of 20^th Century Fox, first as President of Domestic Distribution & Marketing, followed by Senior Executive Vice President and ultimately Chairman of the film division’s domestic operations, that would consolidate his status amongst the industry’s great executives. From the early 1980’s until his departure in 2000 (Sherak once noted that he survived 10 regime changes), he oversaw a roster of films that included Romancing the Stone, Aliens, Broadcast News, Wall Street, Die Hard, Home Alone, There’s Something About Mary, Edward Scissorhands, The Fly, True Lies, Mrs. Doubtfire, Independence Day, Speed, Predator and Titanic. When George Lucas (pictured, right: with Sherak) began taking meetings to negotiate the domestic distribution rights for Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace, Sherak made a short film in which he starred as a Luke Skywalker-type hero; it was called ‘Episode VII -- The Distribution Wars’. Lucas issued a statement soon after the Sherak's passing, stating ""Tom's passion for everything he did made him an inspiration to work with. His boundless enthusiasm for Star Wars earned him an honorary Jedi master title."

THE EVOLUTION OF REVOLUTION STUDIOS: Sherak’s departure from the Fox fold in 2000 led to his involvement as an equity partner in Revolution Studios, a high-profile start-up venture that was the brainchild of Joe Roth. Roth had been chairman of 20^th Century Fox from 1989 to 1993 and worked closely with Sherak; the pair would shepherd such films as XXX, Black Hawk Down, Punch Drunk Love, Maid in Manhattan, The Missing, Anger Management, Hellboy (pictured, right: director Guillermo del Toro with Sherak), Rocky Balboa, Click and the ambitious Julie Taymor vision, Across the Universe. The pairing was not without its commercial and critical misfires (Gigli, Hollywood Homicide, Zoom, Next, Rent), but, due in no small part to Sherak’s sense of old-school showmanship and business acumen, turned solid profits on a slate of low-brow/low-cost comedies (The Animal, The Master of Disguise, Daddy Day Care, 13 Going On 30, The Benchwarmers) and minor genre works with major star power (Halle Berry and Bruce Willis in Perfect Strangers; Julianne Moore in The Forgotten). Revolution ceased its film operations in late 2007.

THE AMPAS PRESIDENCY: After a stint as Treasurer and an ongoing seat on the Board of Governors, Tom Sherak was elected President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science in 2009. He moved swiftly to reform the Oscars ceremony, which was in danger of becoming an irrelevant relic of Old Hollywood. He would be instrumental in expanding the Best Picture nominees from five to ten, allowing for more audience-friendly fare to feature; negotiated primetime broadcast agreements that will last until 2020; set in motion a long relationship with the state-of-the-art Dolby Theatre as the event venue; and, forged a relationship with the LA County Museum that will result in an extensive film museum, the first of its kind in Hollywood, designed by architects Zoltan Pali and Pulitzer Prize-winner Renzo Piano. Having served three consecutive terms, he stood down in 2012 having cannily handled the James Franco/Anne Hathaway hosting debacle and Brett Ratner/Eddie Murphy storm; he announced his departure by issuing a heartfelt letter of resignation to the membership.

THE PHILANTHROPIST: Tom Sherak’s daughter Melissa (pictured, right: with her father) was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1993. As his career soared at Fox, his family life was under tremendous strain. But he rallied in the face of adversity and had soon organized a charity event to help sufferers of MS from all walks of life. As chairman of the annual MS Dinner of Champions, he would draw donations in excess of US$45million to the cause. In September 2013, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti bestowed upon Sherak the role of ‘film czar’, his primary duty to draw production activity  back to the city he loved most of all; for this enormous task, he asked for an annual salary of US1.00

Sherak dealt with his disease for 12 years, though rarely mentioned it in public.  At the Academy Governor’s Awards in November 2011, he drank a toast to the late cancer victim Laura Ziskin, honouring the example she set with her strength and personality “for all of us who have struggled with cancer.” Sherak was due to attend the unveiling of his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on February 14; the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce arranged to have the monument brought to his bedside ahead of the ceremony.

Tom Sherak is survived by Madeleine, his wife of 45 years, and their children Melissa, Barbara and William.