Lynda Obst dead: Hollywood producer who worked on Sleepless in Seattle & Interstellar dies aged 74 as tributes pour in
HOLLYWOOD legend Lynda Obst has died aged 74.
The executive producer, who worked on Sleepless in Seattle, Interstellar and The Invention of Lying, had been battling chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
Her son Oly Obst told The Hollywood Reporter that Obst passed away on Tuesday at her home in Los Angeles.
He said in a statement: “My mom was a trailblazer and a fierce advocate for women.
“Also, she was an amazing mother, sister and best friend.
“[My wife] Julie and I are incredibly grateful that she was my mom and that my daughters got to have her as a grandmother.
“We will miss her.”
Obst’s brother Rick Rosen, the longtime and respected partner of TV at WME, added: “Our family is immensely proud of the career that she had and the role model she was for women in the industry, but beyond that, we will always remember her incredible love of our family.
“She was always happiest when she was around the family.”
Obst started producing in the 1980s after working as an editor at The New York Times.
She produced Adventures in Babysitting, Heartbreak Hotel and The Fisher King with Debra Hill.
Obst then set up her own film company making The Invention of Lying with Ricky Gervais in 2009.
She co-produced Interstellar, starring Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway, with Christopher Nolan in 2014.
Tributes have poured in across the industry.
Top Gun star Glenn Powell tweeted: “I interned for Lynda when I first moved to LA.
“A true trailblazer who never missed an opportunity to help me learn.
“I’d often get to drive her home from the office and witnessed someone who took in everything.
“To her, the entire world was a great story ripe for the making. RIP.”