Ronald Louis Schwary (May 23, 1944 – July 2, 2020) was an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

winning American producer and director. Films that he was either producer or executive producer include ''

Ordinary People ''Ordinary People'' is a 1980 American drama film directed by Robert Redford in his directorial debut. The screenplay by Alvin Sargent is based on the 1976 novel of the same name by Judith Guest. The film follows the disintegration of an upp ...

'' for which he won an Academy Award for Best Picture, ''

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

, Scent of a Woman,

Sabrina Sabrina may refer to: * Sabrina (given name), a feminine given name, including a list of persons and fictional characters with the name People * Sabrina (actress), stage name of Norma Ann Sykes (1936–2016), a British glamour model and actres ...

Meet Joe Black ''Meet Joe Black'' is a 1998 American romantic fantasy film directed and produced by Martin Brest, and starring Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins, and Claire Forlani. The screenplay was written by Bo Goldman, Kevin Wade, Ron Osborn, and Jeff Reno, and ...

'' and ''

Random Hearts ''Random Hearts'' is a 1999 American romantic drama film directed by Sydney Pollack and starring Harrison Ford and Kristin Scott Thomas. Based on the 1984 novel of the same name by Warren Adler, the film is about a police officer and a Congr ...

''. He also worked as a producer alongside Sidney Pollack in '' Absence of Malice'' and in ''

Tootsie ''Tootsie'' is a 1982 American satirical romantic comedy-drama film directed by Sydney Pollack and starring Dustin Hoffman. Its supporting cast includes Pollack, Jessica Lange, Teri Garr, Dabney Coleman, Bill Murray, Charles Durning, Geo ...

'', which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture in 1983. He received another Academy Award for Best Picture nomination for '' A Soldier's Story'' in 1985 as well. Schwary did not receive a Best Picture nomination for ''Scent of a Woman'' in 1992, which was both nominated for Oscars and Golden Globes for best picture, since he was the executive producer and the academy only recognized those credited solely as producers. Schwary was also the producer of the Rolling Stones documentary '' Lets Spend the Night Together'' in 1982. Schwary served as an executive producer on the

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand (; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success in multiple fields of entertainment, and is among the few performers awar ...

directed film ''

The Mirror Has Two Faces ''The Mirror Has Two Faces'' is a 1996 American romantic comedy-drama film produced and directed by Barbra Streisand, who also stars. The screenplay by Richard LaGravenese is loosely based on the 1958 French film ''Le Miroir à deux faces'' writt ...

.'' From 2005 to 2011 he produced the ''Medium'' TV series.

Personal life

Schwary was in

The Dalles, Oregon The Dalles is the largest city of Wasco County, Oregon, United States. The population was 16,010 at the 2020 census, and it is the largest city on the Oregon side of the Columbia River between the Portland Metropolitan Area, and Hermisto ...

, the son of Mitchell Schwary (1903- 1986) who was a real estate broker and Lorraine Ablan. Schwary was of Lebanese descent and both his paternal and maternal grandparents were born in

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...

. He attended the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

but transferred to the

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...

where he graduated in 1967. At USC, Schwary became friends with actor John Wayne who was a USC alumni who got him a job as a stand-in for Dustin Hoffman in ''

The Graduate ''The Graduate'' is a 1967 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Mike Nichols and written by Buck Henry and Calder Willingham, based on the 1963 novel of the same name by Charles Webb, who wrote it shortly after graduating from W ...

''. Schwary worked as an assistant director in the 1970s and later as a production manager. He was married to Emmy-nominated hairstylist Susan Carol Schwary from 1971 to 1994. Both of their sons, Brian and Neil Schwary, work in the film industry. Schwary was married to Karen Feldman from 2009 to 2014. Schwary died on July 2, 2020 from a rare neurological disease.

Filmography

He was a producer in all films unless otherwise noted.

Film

;Second unit director or assistant director ;Production manager ;As an actor ;Miscellaneous crew

Television

;Second unit director or assistant director ;As director ;Production manager ;Thanks

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Schwary, Ronald L. American film producers 2020 deaths 1944 births Golden Globe Award-winning producers American people of Lebanese descent Producers who won the Best Picture Academy Award Neurological disease deaths in California