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He has also collaborated with Sheldon Leonard on “The Andy Griffith Show” and “I Spy” and with Steven Spielberg on the Indiana Jones films during his long career.
Mike Fenton, the influential casting director who has found actors for historical films such as Flight over a cuckoo’s nest, The Godfather: Part II, ET – The alien and the three Back to the future movies, died. He was 85 years old.
Fenton, who has spent more than half a century in show business, died Wednesday of natural causes at his Los Angeles home, his son, Mick, said The Hollywood Reporter.
After starting out in the mailroom at Music Corporation of America and becoming an agent for Lew Wasserman, Fenton served as a casting director for Paramount and then for Danny Thomas and Sheldon Leonard’s T&L Productions, where he worked on The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Andy Griffith Show, This girl, Gomer Pyle: USMC and I spy.
Fenton co-founded the Casting Society of America (then known as the American Society of Casting Directors) in 1982. He received the ASC Hoyt Bowers Award for his career in 1989 and was a champion of casting directors everywhere.
In a statement, ASC Co-Chairs Russell Boast and Rich Mento said, “Fenton’s remarkable achievements and incredible work in raising awareness and appreciation for the casting profession define his legacy in the entertainment industry. “.
Fenton collaborated with Steven Spielberg on the director’s first feature film, The Sugarland Express (1974), as well as episodes of NBC’s Amazing stories, three Indiana Jones films and Empire of the Sun (1987). He has also worked on numerous feature films produced by Spielberg, including the trio of Back to the future movies, Fighting spirit (1982) and An american tail (1986).
“Working with Mike Fenton was like working in a candy store – he blew up the cast,” Spielberg said. “His staunch support of actors was a legend, and after landing a role, an actor’s smile was rarely as wide as Mike’s.
“He didn’t just support the actors, he started crusades. And he was a really good actor himself, because he always read dialogue offscreen to create energy and mojo for the person reading. The role. Much like the actors he advocated for, Mike loved his role – and those around him loved him so much, and I will miss him dearly. “
His long list of credits – he has nearly 300 on IMDb – also included American graffiti (1973), Chinese district (1974), Young Frankenstein (1974), Shampoo (1975), The bad news bears (1976), Man marathon (1976), Slap (1977), Come off (1979), Norma Rae (1979), Blade runner (1982), A Christmas story (1983), Free of any tie (1984), Extraterrestrials (1986), Beaches (1988), Total recall (1990), Chaplin (1992), Toy story (1995) and Sharknado 2: The Second (2014).
Asked about his profession in an interview in 2019, Fenton said that a casting director “brings together the psychological and physical attributes of the person you choose. Who can best perform that role? As a casting director, are you casting that person because of the looks, or are you casting it because of their ability?… that’s the art of casting. “
Ronald Michael Feinstein was born in Los Angeles on January 29, 1935 and raised in Beverly Hills. Her father, Robert, was a successful stock broker who lost all his money during the Depression and then owned a gas station.
Fenton graduated from UCLA Film School in 1956 with the goal of becoming director of photography, then landed a job in the MCA’s mailroom. Supervised by Herman Citron, he was promoted to agent and represented clients such as Alfred Hitchcock and Shirley MacLaine.
After a year at the Ashley-Steiner agency, he worked alongside future Oscar-winning producer Al Ruddy (The Godfather, Million dollar baby) before joining Paramount as casting director in 1963. He discovered the actors of the films of Elvis Presley and Jerry Lewis, then spent three years at T&L, where he was also associate producer on the Robert Culp-Bill Cosby with I spy.
At T&L, he hired Fred Roos, another future Oscar-winning producer (The Godfather: Part II), and the couple formed their own casting agency in 1971. Fenton would later team up with Jane Feinberg, Judy Taylor, Allison Cowitt and, most recently, Ann Frederick.
In addition to his son, survive his second wife, Irene, his stepdaughter Alison and his grandchildren Riley and Olivia. He was married to Janet Monfort from 1963 until his death in 2003.
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