Richard Zanuck, legendary Hollywood producer, dies at 77

Richard D. Zanuck, one of the most legendary and influential figures in the history of the movie business, died Friday morning at age 77.

Zanuck had a huge influence on Hollywood and the culture at large, first as the head of 20^th Century Fox and, for the past four decades, as a film producer.

On his watch, Fox released era-defining classics such as “The Sound of Music,” “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” and “MASH.”

PHOTOS: Richard Zanuck | 1934 - 2012

As a producer, Zanuck, who was the son of Darryl Zanuck, the first chief of Fox, continued a remarkable run; he was a driving force on movies such as “Jaws,” “Cocoon,” and “Driving Miss Daisy.”

In recent years, he had collaborated frequently with Tim Burton, producing about a half-dozen of the auteur’s movies, including the recently released”Dark Shadows.”

A complete obit will follow at latimes.com/obituaries and other posts will be coming shortly on Movies Now.

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