Charles Shyer, the director of the 1991 Steve Martin-led comedy classic Father of the Bride and its 1993 Father of the Bride Part II sequel, has died at the age of 83.
His death on Friday (December 27) was announced by his family, who told Deadline in a statement: “It’s with an indescribably heavy heart that we share the news of our beloved father, Charles Shyer’s passing.
“His loss leaves an unfillable hole in our lives, but his legacy lives on through his children and the five decades of wonderful work he’s left behind. We honor the extraordinary life he led and know there will never be another quite like him.”
No cause of death was provided.
In 1981, Shyer earned an Oscar nomination for his screenplay for Howard Zieff’s 1980 war comedy Private Benjamin, which he co-wrote with prolific filmmaker Nancy Meyers (The Holiday) and the late actor and director Harvey Miller.
The same year of Private Benjamin’s release, Shyer married Meyers. The pair went on to collaborate on several other successful Eighties and Nineties comedy hits, including Meyer’s 1998 family comedy The Parent Trap, starring Lindsay Lohan as twins Annie and Hallie, who scheme to get their divorced parents back together.
The Disney classic would be Shyer’s and Meyers’ final film together, as they ended up getting divorced in 1999 after 19 years of marriage.
Decades later, in a 2020 interview with Variety, Shyer reflected on writing the screenplay for The Parent Trap, saying: “This movie had the fantasy of getting your parents back together. So many kids come from broken homes. I did, and I think it fulfilled that dream for kids.”
Besides the Father of the Bride movie series, Shyer also directed the 1987 rom-com Baby Boom, starring Diane Keaton, the 1994 I Love Trouble remake, starring Julia Roberts and Nick Holte, as well as the 2004 rom-com Alfie, starring Jude Law.
His final directing effort was for Netflix’s 2022 holiday rom-com The Noel Diary, which featured This Is Us star Justin Hartley as a best-selling author who, after returning home for Christmas to settle his mom’s estate, discovers a diary that holds secrets to the past.
Shyer is survived by his four children: Annie Meyers-Shyer, Home Again director Hallie Meyers-Shyer, Sophia and Jacob.
