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John Guillermin, known for “The Towering Inferno” and the 1976 “King Kong,” died Sunday at his home in the Topanga Canyon area of Los Angeles. He was 89.
The filmmaker’s career began after studying at Cambridge University and a stint in the RAF during World War Two.
His friend Nick Redman confirmed that he passed away at his home in the Topanga Canyon area of Los Angeles.
Guillermin’s films starred some of the biggest names in Hollywood.
Steve McQueen, Paul Newman, William Holden and Faye Dunaway had roles in The Towering Inferno in 1974.
It won Oscars for original song, film editing and cinematography.
Guillermin also helped launch Jessica Lange’s career with King Kong and directed Death On The Nile with Peter Ustinov and Bette Davis.
Other films included House Of Cards, The Blue Max, Rapture and Shaft In Africa.
His final film was the Kong sequel King Kong Lives in 1986.
The Hollywood veteran’s wife Mary confirmed the news on Facebook and wrote: “Sadly but proudly, I am Mary Guillermin, widow of a wonderful man – sensitive and passionate, full of a fierce rapture himself.”
Redman paid tribute to him on Facebook, writing: “He was, even in his 80s, an irrepressible life-force – funny, cantankerous, profane, sophisticated, urbane.
“A gentleman of the old school, a pilot in the RAF during WWII, and later an eloquent filmmaker of taste and judgement, his movies speak for themselves, and also for him, for he is there, living inside them, his personality tumbling out in every reel.
“Farewell, sir, you were one of a kind — and your like will not ever come again.”
Guillermin is survived by Mary and a daughter.
Agencies/Canadajournal
