Charles Shyer, ‘Father of the Bride’ filmmaker, dies at 83
Charles Shyer, the Oscar-nominated writer and filmmaker known for classic comedies like “Private Benjamin,” “Baby Boom” and “Father of the Bride” that he made alongside Nancy Meyers, has died. He was 83.
Shyer died in Los Angeles on Friday, his daughter, filmmaker Hallie Meyers-Shyer told The Associated Press on Sunday. No cause was disclosed.
A son of Hollywood, whose father Melville Shyer was one of the founding members of the Directors Guild of America, Shyer made an indelible mark on comedies, mostly of the romantic persuasion, in the 1980s and 1990s.
Born in Los Angeles in 1941, Shyer cut his teeth writing for television, assisting Garry Marshall and working on shows like “The Odd Couple” before transitioning to films. He had writing credits on “Smokey and the Bandit,” Jack Nicholson’s “Goin’ South” and the Walter Matthau drama “House Calls.” A big breakthrough came with “Private Benjamin,” the Goldie Hawn comedy about a wealthy woman who inadvertently signs up for basic training, which he co-wrote with Meyers and Harvey Miller.
It was a script that was initially turned down by every studio in Hollywood, even with Hawn attached to star and produce.
“We went to a meeting at Paramount after they read the script, and Mike Eisner was the president of the studio, and we sat in his office with Mike and (producer) Don Simpson. And Mike said to Goldie, ‘This is a mistake for you to make this movie,'” Shyer told Indiewire in 2022. “God bless Don Simpson who spoke up and said, ‘Mike, you’re 100% wrong on this one.'”
Shyer and Meyers’ last collaboration as a married couple before divorcing in 1999 was the remake of “The Parent Trap,” with Lindsay Lohan, which Meyers directed and Shyer co-wrote and produced. Their daughters Annie and Hallie, whose names were used for Lohan’s twin characters, both appeared in the film. Shyer is also survived by two children, Jacob and Sophia, from a later marriage that ended in divorce.