Richard Glatzer, who directed a powerful film about a professor battling Alzheimer’s as he faced his own harrowing health struggles, has died.
Glatzer died in Los Angeles on Tuesday after having ALS for four years, his publicist said. He was 63.
Glatzer co-directed “Still Alice” with his husband, Wash Westmoreland. The 2014 film earned a number of major awards for its lead actress, Julianne Moore.
Directing the movie was a challenge that Glatzer embraced, even as he faced a growing number of health obstacles after his ALS diagnosis in 2011.
“On set, he inspired the cast and crew with his perseverance, (co-directing) the film by typing with one finger into a text-to-speech app on his iPad,” his publicist’s statement said.
In a Twitter post Wednesday, Westmoreland said he was devastated.
“Richard was my soul mate, my collaborator, my life,” he said. “A true artist and a brilliant man.”
When she accepted her Academy Award for best actress last month for her role in the film, Moore noted Glatzer’s absence.
“Finally, to our filmmakers, Wash Westmoreland and Richard Glatzer, who had hoped to be here tonight, but they can’t because of Richard’s health,” she said. “When Richard was diagnosed with ALS, Wash asked him what he wanted to do. Did he want to travel? Did he want to see the world? He said he wanted to make movies. And that’s what he did.”
