Charles Shyer: filmmaker dies aged 83

Hollywood is mourning the loss of one of its most successful comedy directors: Charles Shyer died on Friday at the age of 83. His family confirmed this in a statement. The cause of death has not yet been announced.

Shyer celebrated his greatest success with the screenplay for the comedy “Schütze Benjamin” (1980), for which he received an Oscar nomination for best screenwriter together with Nancy Meyers (75) and Harvey Miller (1935-1999). He had an intense partnership with Meyers not only professionally – the couple married in 1990 and became one of the most successful creative duos in Hollywood.

Together they created comedy classics such as “Baby Boom” with Diane Keaton (78) and the “Father of the Bride” films with Steve Martin (79). The last collaboration between Shyer and Meyers before the divorce in 1999 was the hit film “A Twin Rarely Comes Alone” with Lindsay Lohan (38).

Born in Los Angeles in 1941, Shyer was practically born into the film industry. His father Melville Shyer (1895-1968) also worked as a director and production manager. He was one of the founding members of the still powerful directors’ union Directors Guild of America. After studying at UCLA, Charles Shyer initially started his career in television, where he worked, among other things, as a writer for the series “Men’s Economy”.

His other directing work includes “Alfie” with Jude Law (52) and most recently the Netflix Christmas film “The Noel Diary” (2022) as well as the Netflix Christmas comedy “Best. Christmas. Ever!” (2023). Shyer leaves behind a total of four children, including the director Hallie Meyers-Shyer (37).

“His family and his legacy of five decades of wonderful work live on,” his family paid tribute to the deceased in a statement to Deadline. “We honor his extraordinary life and know that there will never be another like him.”