Hart
Jan 14th, 2002, 10:55:36 PM
It turns out that his next film was supposed to be "Nautica" starring Ewan McGregor and Heath Ledger.
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20020114/en/obit_demme_6.html
SANTA MONICA, Calif. (AP) - Ted Demme, a film and television director whose credits include the movie ``Blow,'' collapsed and died while playing basketball. He was 38.
The stocky filmmaker was participating in a celebrity basketball game at the private Crossroads School when he was stricken Sunday, said Ted Braun, a spokesman for Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center.
Paramedics rushed Demme to the hospital's emergency room in full cardiac arrest. He was pronounced dead 20 minutes later.
The cause of death has not been determined and an autopsy will be conducted, Lt. Cheryl MacWillie of the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office said.
Demme directed Johnny Depp and Penelope Cruz in last year's ``Blow.'' The movie was based on the true story of George Jung, the American connection to the Colombian cocaine cartel in the late 1970s and early '80s.
Demme, who lived in West Hollywood, got his start in filmmaking with the 1992 short ``The Bet,'' a drama about two brothers running a New York deli.
The next year he directed his first feature, the hip-hop comedy ``Who's the Man?'' - an offshoot of the ``Yo! MTV Raps'' music show he had produced since 1988.
He followed in 1994 with the acerbic comedy ``The Ref,'' which starred Denis Leary as a burglar who takes hostage an incessantly bickering couple (Judy Davis and Kevin Spacey).
Demme had previously directed Leary in the 1992 TV comedy special ``No Cure for Cancer'' and later directed him again in the 1997 comedy show ``Lock 'N' Load.'' The pair last worked together on the 1998 thriller ``Snitch,'' which starred Leary as a small-time thug confronting the mobster killers of his cousin.
``Last night, I lost one of my closest friends in the world,'' said Leary, who now stars in the ABC comedy ``The Job.'' ``Ted Demme was a great friend, father and husband, a man whose talent was matched only by his incredible passion for life.''
Demme also directed the 1996 film ``Beautiful Girls,'' an ensemble comedy about a high school reunion that starred Matt Dillon, Lauren Holly, Rosie O'Donnell and Mira Sorvino.
Although he was best known for his feature films, Demme also made his mark on television. He won an Emmy in 1999 for co-producing the civil-rights TV movie ``A Lesson Before Dying.'' He also directed episodes of the crime series ``Homicide: Life on the Street'' and the short-lived 1999 show ``Action,'' about a Hollywood producer played by Jay Mohr.
Demme's feature films included the prison comedy ``Life,'' which starred Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence as two squabbling crooks.
His uncle, Jonathan Demme, directed the 1991 film ``The Silence of the Lambs,'' which won the Academy Award for best picture and director. The elder Demme also directed the films ``Philadelphia,'' ``Married to the Mob'' and ``Something Wild.''
Ted Demme is survived by his wife, Amanda Scheer-Demme, a music supervisor for films such as ``Erin Brockovich'' and ``Blow.''
The couple had two children, a 5-year-old daughter and a 2-month-old son.
Demme was preparing to direct a thriller titled ``Nautica'' starring Ewan McGregor and Heath Ledger.
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20020114/en/obit_demme_6.html
SANTA MONICA, Calif. (AP) - Ted Demme, a film and television director whose credits include the movie ``Blow,'' collapsed and died while playing basketball. He was 38.
The stocky filmmaker was participating in a celebrity basketball game at the private Crossroads School when he was stricken Sunday, said Ted Braun, a spokesman for Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center.
Paramedics rushed Demme to the hospital's emergency room in full cardiac arrest. He was pronounced dead 20 minutes later.
The cause of death has not been determined and an autopsy will be conducted, Lt. Cheryl MacWillie of the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office said.
Demme directed Johnny Depp and Penelope Cruz in last year's ``Blow.'' The movie was based on the true story of George Jung, the American connection to the Colombian cocaine cartel in the late 1970s and early '80s.
Demme, who lived in West Hollywood, got his start in filmmaking with the 1992 short ``The Bet,'' a drama about two brothers running a New York deli.
The next year he directed his first feature, the hip-hop comedy ``Who's the Man?'' - an offshoot of the ``Yo! MTV Raps'' music show he had produced since 1988.
He followed in 1994 with the acerbic comedy ``The Ref,'' which starred Denis Leary as a burglar who takes hostage an incessantly bickering couple (Judy Davis and Kevin Spacey).
Demme had previously directed Leary in the 1992 TV comedy special ``No Cure for Cancer'' and later directed him again in the 1997 comedy show ``Lock 'N' Load.'' The pair last worked together on the 1998 thriller ``Snitch,'' which starred Leary as a small-time thug confronting the mobster killers of his cousin.
``Last night, I lost one of my closest friends in the world,'' said Leary, who now stars in the ABC comedy ``The Job.'' ``Ted Demme was a great friend, father and husband, a man whose talent was matched only by his incredible passion for life.''
Demme also directed the 1996 film ``Beautiful Girls,'' an ensemble comedy about a high school reunion that starred Matt Dillon, Lauren Holly, Rosie O'Donnell and Mira Sorvino.
Although he was best known for his feature films, Demme also made his mark on television. He won an Emmy in 1999 for co-producing the civil-rights TV movie ``A Lesson Before Dying.'' He also directed episodes of the crime series ``Homicide: Life on the Street'' and the short-lived 1999 show ``Action,'' about a Hollywood producer played by Jay Mohr.
Demme's feature films included the prison comedy ``Life,'' which starred Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence as two squabbling crooks.
His uncle, Jonathan Demme, directed the 1991 film ``The Silence of the Lambs,'' which won the Academy Award for best picture and director. The elder Demme also directed the films ``Philadelphia,'' ``Married to the Mob'' and ``Something Wild.''
Ted Demme is survived by his wife, Amanda Scheer-Demme, a music supervisor for films such as ``Erin Brockovich'' and ``Blow.''
The couple had two children, a 5-year-old daughter and a 2-month-old son.
Demme was preparing to direct a thriller titled ``Nautica'' starring Ewan McGregor and Heath Ledger.