M. Night Shyamalan Films producer was 69 years old

Sam Mercer

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Sam Mercer, who has produced eight M. Night Shyamalan films starting with the blockbuster horror film The Sixth Sense, He died. He was 69 years old.

Mercer died Feb. 12 at his home in South Pasadena after a battle with Alzheimer’s disease, his wife, Tegan Jones, said. Hollywood Reporter.

Mercer was seen as an outside-the-box hire when he joined Industrial Light & Magic in September 2015 to oversee and coordinate the activities of the giant VFX studios in San Francisco, Vancouver, London and Singapore. However, he left the following year after being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.

Mercer began his career as a location manager on films including… Strips (1981), National Lampoon Holiday (1983), Pee Wee’s Big Adventure (1985), Peggy married Sue (1986) and The Witches of Eastwick (1987).

He joined Disney and was a production executive on features such as Good morning Vietnam (1987) and Dead Poets Society (1989), and as Vice President of Production at Hollywood Pictures, he oversaw the release of films including… Arachnophobia (1990), The hand that rocks the cradle (1992), Joy Luck Club (1993) and Show competition (1994).

Mercer produced Congo (1995) and Impact (1997) at Paramount before approaching Shyamalan for a writer-director meeting The Sixth Sense (1999), Disney Distribution. The film, starring Bruce Willis and Haley Joel Osment, grossed $673 million worldwide as the second highest-grossing film of the year, behind only The imaginary threat.

The duo then collaborated on directing Shyamalan’s film Unbreakable (2000), Signs (2002), the village (2004), Lady in the water (2006), Occurrence (2008) and The last air (2010) and co-written by Shyamalan Satan (2010).

“Sam and I started working together when I was in my mid-20s,” Shyamalan said in a statement. “He taught me that group culture comes from the top down. He guided me with kindness and showed me how to overcome pressure with grace. He was the best big brother I could have hoped for.”

“He made every movie a family, and I’ve tried to emulate that in every movie since. He made me laugh and took care of me at the same time. He did that for everyone. I’ll never forget his perfectly neat desk, his kind eyes and his magical ability to convey the message that every… Something would be fine. When he was around, that was always true.

A native of Weston, Massachusetts, Samuel Loring Mercer was the youngest of four sons. He attended Groton School and Occidental College before making his way to Hollywood.

His producing resume is also included Van Helsing (2004), Jarhead (2005), Things we lost in the fire (2007), Snow White and the Huntsman (2012), Heaven is real (2014), PFG (2016) and Concrete cowboy (2020) Written and directed by Ricky Staub, his former assistant.

“Working for Sam completely changed the course of my life,” Staub said in a statement. “He showed me how filmmaking can be a transformative experience for a crew and not just a job. It’s the defining moments I cherish most: walking to lunch, him jokingly calling me ‘Ricky Bobby’, late at night when it’s just us With pages of spreadsheets.With his passing, I feel so grateful to have been able to experience this man’s beautiful legacy firsthand.

In addition to his wife, survivors include his children, Miles and Sierra. Donations in his memory may be made to Lorenzo House.