Bill Shepard, a casting director who worked for Walt Disney Studios and director Mel Brooks, died Sept. 20 of a heart attack at Sherman Oaks Hospital and Health Center. He was 79.
Shepard spent 17 years casting films and TV shows at Disney, then went on to work in a similar capacity on "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier" (1989) and such Brooks' comedies as "Spaceballs" (1987), "Robin Hood: Men in Tights" (1993) and "Dracula: Dead and Loving It" (1995).
Shepard was responsible for giving Michael J. Fox his first feature film role when he cast the young Canadian to star in Disney's 1980 film "Midnight Madness."
"Bill not only found stars and big players that helped make the pictures successful," Brooks said, "but he also was a genius at finding the right featured players and smaller character roles that gave my movies depth and reality. I could always rely on him to do a great job."
Following...
Shepard spent 17 years casting films and TV shows at Disney, then went on to work in a similar capacity on "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier" (1989) and such Brooks' comedies as "Spaceballs" (1987), "Robin Hood: Men in Tights" (1993) and "Dracula: Dead and Loving It" (1995).
Shepard was responsible for giving Michael J. Fox his first feature film role when he cast the young Canadian to star in Disney's 1980 film "Midnight Madness."
"Bill not only found stars and big players that helped make the pictures successful," Brooks said, "but he also was a genius at finding the right featured players and smaller character roles that gave my movies depth and reality. I could always rely on him to do a great job."
Following...
- 11/4/2009
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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