Home · Entertainment · Sep 7 archive
Bruce Davis, Longtime Film Academy Chief Executive, Dies at 83
Developing
In Short: Bruce Davis, who served as chief executive of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences for over two decades, passed away following a battle with leukemia on Saturday at the age of 83.
Bruce Davis, a longtime leader of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, died on Saturday after a long struggle with leukemia, his wife Joann confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter.
Davis joined the Academy in 1981 and rose through the ranks to become executive director in 1989, a position he held until his retirement in 2011.
Upon his retirement, Davis reflected, 'I don’t think I’ve been bored for a minute in 30 years here,' highlighting his dedication and engagement with the Academy.
A native of Washington, D.C., Davis earned his undergraduate degree in English from Juniata College and a master's degree in Medieval Literature from the University of Maryland, before dedicating his career to the film industry.
What's confirmed
What's still developing
- In addition to his wife, Davis also is survived by their four daughters, according to THR.
- During the remainder of his tenure, Davis presided over day-to-day operations and staffing, which grew nearly four-fold to 200.
- He was one of the earliest proponents for the Academy museum, which finally was realized when the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures opened on Wilshire Boulevard in 2021.
- Part memoir and part chronicle, Th e Academy and the Award: The Coming of Age of Oscar and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scienc es, was 12 years in the making.
- You’ve never seen a movie quite like “ Bucking Fastard,” whose director, Werner Herzog, turned 84 while promoting it at the Venice Film Festival.
- Part bawdy sex comedy, part picaresque adventure, and fully an eccentric existential odyssey, the film stars real-life sisters Kate and Rooney Mara as nearly identical twins who speak, move, and desire in lockstep unison.
- The film was originally invited to play out of competition at the Cannes Film Festival, an offering Herzog rejected because he wanted to give his stellar actresses a chance to win prizes.
- The day after the film’s world premiere, IndieWire sat down with Herzog — who fills any room with a warm gravitas — to talk about “Bucking Fastard,” why he has no plans to stop making movies, and his relationship with David Lynch, to whom this film is dedicated.
Sources
- Deadline link