Former Sony Pictures Chief John Calley Dies at 81

Former Warner Bros., United Artists and Sony Pictures chief John Calley, known for producing movies such as Catch-22 and The Da Vinci Code, died Tuesday at his home in Los Angeles at age 81.

"As a friend [John] was always there and always funny," director-producer Mike Nichols said in a statement released by Sony. "As a studio head he was unfailingly supportive and didn't try to do the filmmaker's job.

"When he believed in someone he trusted and supported him, and when very rarely he had a suggestion, it was usually a lifesaver. In fact that's what he was: a lifesaver."

Calley, who retired from Sony in 2003, had been in poor health in recent years, but the cause of death was not disclosed, according to Sony spokesman Steve Elzer, who said the studio was planning a memorial on the Sony Pictures lot in Culver City. Sony Co-Chairwoman Amy Pascal said Calley had "a steely business mind and the soul of an artist.''

Howard Stringer, chairman of Sony Corp., remembered Calley as "a
wonderful raconteur, up there with Mike Nichols, Michael Caine and Peter Ustinov, who could hold your attention for hours with rich anecdotes that capture the human dimensions of his beloved film industry.

"Even in his lengthy illness, he never lost his charm or ever felt
sorry for himself,'' he said.

The Jersey City, NJ, native, who was awarded the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' Irving G. Thalberg Award in 2009, started out in the mail room at NBC at age 21. He worked his way up through the ranks, initially gaining attention in 1970 for producing an adaptation of Joseph Heller's novel Catch-22 for Filmways. The movie was produced by Nichols, marking the start of long friendship.

Calley moved to Warner Bros., where he was production chief, president and vice chairman and worked on movies such as The Exorcist, Dirty Harry, A Clockwork Orange, All the President's Men and Superman.

In 1980 he unexpectedly quit, taking off nearly a decade before going back to work with Nichols.

In 1993 Calley was named president and chief operating officer of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/United Artists, working there for three years—overseeing movies such as Leaving Las Vegas—before shifting to Sony Pictures. In 1996, he became president of the studio and, in 1998, was voted to chairman and chief executive officer. Among the titles during his latter tenure there were Men in Black and Spider-Man.

After leaving the studio, he produced the mega-hit The Da Vinci Code and its sequel, Angels and Demons. When not hard at work, Calley loved sailing and collecting cars. He is survived by daughter Sabrina Calley and stepchildren Emily Zinnerman, David Zinnerman and Will Firth.

City News Service contributed to this report.