Richard Glatzer, who wrote and directed Still Alice with his husband Wash Westmoreland, has died at the age of 63 after a courageous battle against ALS.
Glatzer passed away on Tuesday, March 10, film publicist Ekta Farrar confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter, less than three weeks after watchng Julianne Moore scoop the Best Actress Oscar for her performance in his film, playing a women with early onset Alzheimer’s disease.
Glatzer was unable to attend the ceremony, having been rushed to the hospital two days before the event took place. He and husband Westmoreland watched the telecast from his bedside.
The filmmaking pair signed up to adapt Lisa Genova‘s novel Still Alice in 2011, shortly after Glatzer had been given his ALS diagnosis, yet despite the illness’ quick progression, he never missed a day on set.
Westmoreland, who married his husband in 2013, said in a statement that he was “devastated” by Glatzer’s passing. “Rich was my soul mate, my collaborator, my best friend and my life. Seeing him battle ALS for four years with such grace and courage inspired me and all who knew him.”
“In this dark time, I take some consolation in the fact that he got to see Still Alice go out into the world. He put his heart and soul into that film, and the fact that it touched so many people was a constant joy to him.”
Leading lady Moore spoke touchingly about Glatzer and Westmoreland during her Oscar acceptance speech on Sunday, Feb. 22.
“And finally, to our filmmakers, Wash Westmoreland and Richard Glatzer, who had hoped to be here tonight but they can’t because of Richard’s health,” she explained. “When Richard was diagnosed with ALS, Wash asked him what he wanted to do. Did he want to travel? Did he want to see the world? And he said that he wanted to make movies, and that’s what he did.”
Linking to an article about his death on her Twitter feed on Wednesday, March 11, she added, simply, “I love you richard.”
In addition to his husband, Glatzer is survived by his sister, Joan, her husband, David, his loving nieces and nephews, and his daughter, Ruby.
