On Golden Pond director Mark Rydell dead aged 97

Mark Rydell, the Oscar-nominated director who guided Henry Fonda and Katharine Hepburn to Academy Awards in On Golden Pond and helped launch Bette Midler’s film career with The Rose, has died aged 97.

The American filmmaker and actor passed away on Friday (14.08.26), according to reports in Variety and Deadline.

Mark’s career stretched from acting in 1950s television to directing some of Hollywood’s most acclaimed performers, with On Golden Pond, The Rose, The Reivers, Cinderella Liberty and The River among films he directed that received Academy Award nominations.

Mark achieved his greatest commercial and awards success with 1981’s On Golden Pond, adapted by Ernest Thompson from his stage play.

The family drama starred Henry Fonda and Katharine Hepburn alongside Henry’s daughter Jane Fonda and became one of the defining films of Mark’s career.

Henry won the best actor Oscar for his performance as Norman Thayer in what proved to be his final film role, while Katharine collected her record fourth best actress Academy Award.

Jane was nominated for best supporting actress, Ernest won for his adapted screenplay and Mark received his sole best director Oscar nomination.

Mark had already established his reputation as a director capable of drawing awards-recognised performances from actors.

He directed Rupert Crosse in The Reivers, Marsha Mason in Cinderella Liberty and Sissy Spacek in The River, with all three receiving Oscar nominations for their performances.

Bette received her first best actress nomination for The Rose and another for For the Boys.

Before becoming a filmmaker, Mark worked extensively as an actor.

He appeared in the soap opera As the World Turns and made his feature debut in the 1956 drama Crime in the Streets. His stage career included Broadway appearances before he increasingly moved behind the camera.

His early television directing credits included Gunsmoke, Ben Casey, The Fugitive, I Spy and The Wild Wild West. Mark subsequently moved into feature films with The Fox, starring Sandy Dennis and Keir Dullea, before directing Steve McQueen in The Reivers and John Wayne in The Cowboys.

Mark also continued acting despite his success behind the camera. One of his most prominent performances came as gangster Marty Augustine opposite Elliott Gould in Robert Altman’s 1973 adaptation of Raymond Chandler’s The Long Goodbye.

His later directing work included Intersection, starring Richard Gere and Sharon Stone, HBO’s Crime of the Century and the television film James Dean.

The latter starred James Franco as the Hollywood actor and received 11 Emmy nominations, including one for Mark’s direction.

Mark returned to feature directing with the gambling drama Even Money, starring Kim Basinger, Kelsey Grammer and Forest Whitaker.

His later television work included an episode of ABC’s Masters of Science Fiction, hosted by physicist Stephen Hawking.

Mark also maintained a lengthy association with fellow filmmaker Sydney Pollack, with the pair forming the production company Sanford Productions. He appeared as gangster Meyer Lansky in Sydney’s Havana and continued taking occasional acting roles, including playing Warner Bros studio chief Jack Warner in his own James Dean and appearing in Woody Allen’s Hollywood Ending.

He is survived by his three children – actors Amy Rydell and Christopher Rydell, and editor Alexander Rydell.