What Illness Did Gray Frederickson Die Of? Gray Frederickson, an Oklahoma City filmmaker who won an Academy Award, passed away at the age of 85. Let’s see about his death cause and if it’s illness related.
Who was Gray Frederickson?
Frederickson, who was born and reared in Oklahoma City, came the closest to a career in film as a young man by working as an usher at the Lakeside Theater in the 1950s.
Frederickson, a graduate of the Casady School and the University of Oklahoma, also studied abroad at the University of Lausanne.
What Illness Did Gray Frederickson Die Of?
Academy Award-winning Oklahoma City filmmaker Gray Frederickson died Sunday, November 20, 2022 at the age of 85.
However, It is not disclosed yet the cause of his death. There is no information at the moment confirming that Gray Frederickson died of illness talk more of mentioning the type of sickness he suffered till death.
Still, on this, authorities have been trying to reach out to the family and relatives for comment on the incident. So far no responses have been received. We will update the page once enough information is available.
Career Begins
From then, he relocated to Rome, where he began his career in film as the producer of “Nakita” in 1963. More possibilities came, as a result, such as the chance to work as the production manager on the Italian film “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly” directed by Sergio Leone. Clint Eastwood, the star of that movie, and Frederickson grew close over time.
With the 1970 Robert Redford film “Little Fauss and Big Halsy,” Frederickson took his burgeoning career to Hollywood and formed an important bond with fellow producer Albert S. Ruddy.
He and Ruddy collaborated with studio stalwart Robert Evans two years later to produce Coppola’s “The Godfather.”
Collaboration
Along with its three Academy Award victories, “The Godfather” marked the beginning of Coppola and Frederickson’s 50-year romance.
The only sequel in Oscar history to win the best picture was “The Godfather: Part II,” which the Oklahoma City native directed. He also received a best picture nomination for “Apocalypse Now” in 1980.
“I got on a winning horse. I was with Francis Coppola, who’s no slouch. I was lucky enough to be carried along with him,” Frederickson recalled in a 2021 interview with The Oklahoman.
He claims “I got lucky with him, but he says he got lucky with me.”So maybe that’s a good thing.
Producer Gray Frederickson sits on a large rock to watch filming of the movie “The Hunt” in 2005 in a wooded area of Logan County.
“The Outsiders”
The coming-of-age drama “The Outsiders,” based on the well-known 1967 book by Tulsa author S.E. Hinton, was even filmed in Tulsa by Frederickson and Coppola in 1982.
The film starred future movie stars C. Thomas Howell, Tom Cruise, Patrick Swayze, Diane Lane, Ralph Macchio, Rob Lowe, Emilio Estevez, and Matt Dillon.
“It’s held up. “Stay gold, Ponyboy” has persisted. It has persisted for as long as “The Godfathers” and “Apocalypse Now.” I have certain films that have stood the test of time because they have compelling narratives “Last year, Frederickson spoke with The Oklahoman.
“The Gray Frederickson Stage”
Although Frederickson’s work in the entertainment industry occasionally brought him back to Oklahoma—he served as executive producer on Weird Al Yankovic’s 1989 cult classic “UHF,” which was filmed in Tulsa—shortly after penning the original screenplay for the 1994 Drew Barrymore movie “Bad Girls,” Frederickson and his family relocated back to Oklahoma.
Gray Frederickson, Rachel Cannon and Matt Payne are shown at the dedication of the Gray Frederickson Sound Stage at Prairie Surf Studios in 2021.
The future founders of Prairie Surf Media, Cannon, and Matt Payne, whom he mentored after returning to Oklahoma City in 1999, surprised Frederickson last year by renaming the first soundstage at Prairie Surf Studios, their downtown Oklahoma City headquarters that had previously been the Cox Convention Center, “The Gray Frederickson Stage.”
2000
Frederickson joined Oklahoma City Community College in 2000 as an artist-in-residence, aiding in the establishment of the school’s film production department, which aims to provide students with the skills necessary to produce and work on motion pictures.
The OCCC program was included on the 2022 list of the Top 40 Film Schools in the United States and Canada published by MovieMaker magazine earlier this year.
Film making
Frederickson kept making movies far into his 80s despite having worked on around 50 movies by that point, notably in his native state.
Last year, he worked on the documentary “Sherwood Forest,” which tells the story of a little-known World War II incident involving a squad of Texas and Oklahoma roughnecks who were sent to England in 1943 to help with the country’s oil shortages.
Oklahoma Hall of Fame
Frederickson was recognized by the dead Center Film Festival in 2012 as an Oklahoma Film & TV ICON, and in 2019 he was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame. Coppola traveled to Oklahoma to assist in presenting his friend with the highest individual distinction bestowed by the state.
Inductee Gray Frederickson, right, poses for a photo with presenter Francis Ford Coppola before the induction ceremony for the Oklahoma Hall of Fame in 2019 at the Cox Convention Center.
Gray Frederickson in an Interview
In a 2019 interview with The Oklahoman, Frederickson stated that he thought being inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame was a higher honor than receiving his Academy Award.
“Oscar is an award for best picture. Oklahoma Hall of Fame is an award for me, so that’s why this is the best,” he said.
“It’s special because of Oklahoma. I’m Oklahoma. I mean, it’s like another appendage for me. It’s part of me; it’s who I am. And to be accepted by Oklahoma is really the pinnacle of everything for me.”
We wish him eternal peace and send our thoughts and prayers to his loved ones, family, friends. May he rest in peace.
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