Fay Kanin dies but leaves screenwriting legacy

Fay Kanin dies: She was a former president of Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Fay Kanin also won two screenwriting Emmys and an Emmy as producer of the 1979 TV special 'Friendly Fire.'

|
(AP Photo/Danny Moloshok, File)
The former president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Fay Kanin, at the Academy in Beverly Hills, Calif. in 2006. The Emmy-winning and Oscar-nominated screenwriter served as president of the film academy from 1979 to 1983.

Emmy-winning and Oscar-nominated screenwriter Fay Kanin has died. She was 95.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences confirmed Kanin's death Wednesday. She served as president of the U.S. film academy from 1979 to 1983.

'She was committed to the Academy's preservation work and instrumental in expanding our public programming. A tireless mentor and inspiration to countless filmmakers, Fay's passion for film continues to inspire us daily," said the Academy in a statement. "Our prayers and condolences go out to her loved ones.”

Kanin was nominated for an Academy Award for 1958's "Teacher's Pet" alongside her husband and writing partner, Michael Kanin. The film starred Clark Gable and Doris Day.

Fay Kanin was also recognized for her television contributions, winning two screenwriting Emmys in 1974 and another for producing the TV special "Friendly Fire" in 1979. Kanin also got a Tony nomination in 1985 for her book to the musical “Grind.”

According to Variety:

"In addition to her tenure as AMPAS president from 1979-83, Kanin was chair of the National Film Preservation Board of the Library of Congress for two decades, served on the boards of the Academy and of the American Film Institute, was president of the Screen Branch of the Writers Guild of America and served as an officer of the Writers Guild Foundation.

Then-Paramount chief Sherry Lansing told writer Cari Beauchamp in 2001 that Kanin is “one of the great women of our time. She is an excellent writer, an exceptional leader, an extraordinary role model and a personal inspiration to me.”

Details on Kanin's survivors and cause of death were not immediately available.

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

QR Code to Fay Kanin dies but leaves screenwriting legacy
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/Latest-News-Wires/2013/0328/Fay-Kanin-dies-but-leaves-screenwriting-legacy
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe