Pictured: Gil Cates at the 77th Academy Awards - Rehearsals Friday Feb. 25, 2005. Photo courtesy of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Sad news out of Hollywood today, longtime Oscar telecast producer, Gil Cates died Monday, October 31st at the age of 77 years old.
I sat down with Cates nearly every year that he produced the Academy Awards and found him to be charming, kind and forthcoming, even when there was a bit of Oscar controversy.
In fact, it was Cates who took the stigma away from the Academy Awards after the unfortunate year that Rob Lowe danced provocatively with Snow White (1989). He resurrected the image of the Oscars and went onto produce a record 14 Academy Award shows between 1990 and 2008. He actually created the heartfelt “In Memorandum” segment honoring the stars that had died during each calendar year.
It was also Cates who asked Billy Crystal, Whoopi Goldberg, David Letterman, Steve Martin, Chris Rock and Jon Stewart to take center stage hosting the Oscars.
Cates was a true showman. He knew the Oscar audience well and gave the event the proper amount of reverence while somehow managing to spice it up each year.
Cates was a prolific filmmaker, who insured Academy Award noms for four outstanding actors, Melvin Douglas and Gene Hackman (I Never Sang for My Father), Joanne Woodward and Silvia Sidney (Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams), but his accomplishments went far beyond his film and television successes.
He was president of the Directors Guild of America (DGA) from 1983 to ‘87, was secretary/treasure of the DGA in 2001, Dean of the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television from 1990 to ‘97 and was the artistic director of the Geffen Playhouse beginning in ’94. His stint as one of the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (Director’s Branch) cover several years from ’84 to ’93 and again from 2002 to 2005. And he received the Directors Guild Presidents Award in 2005.
The Academy released this statement about Cates:
“Gil was our colleague, our friend and a former governor of the Academy,” said Academy President Tom Sherak. “He was a consummate professional who gave the Academy and the world some of the most memorable moments in Oscar® history. His passing is a tremendous loss to the entertainment industry, and our thoughts go out to his family.”
That family includes his accomplished wife, Judith Reichman, M.D. and his niece, actress Phoebe Cates.
I personally will miss those pre-Oscar chats – along with enjoying the surprises he brought to the Academy Awards telecast.
Posted by Mari Cartel