Jonathan Demme Dead at 73

'Silence of the Lambs' director reportedly died of cancer, heart disease complications
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 26, 2017 10:55 AM CDT
Jonathan Demme Dead at 73
Jonathan Demme, left, director of the concert film "Justin Timberlake The Tennessee Kids," and Justin Timberlake react to photographers at the premiere of the film on day 6 of the Toronto International Film Festival at Roy Thomson Hall on Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2016, in Toronto.   (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)

Jonathan Demme, Oscar-winning director of The Silence of the Lambs, died Wednesday morning at age 73. Demme, who passed away in New York, died of esophageal cancer and complications from heart disease, sources tell IndieWire. NPR and the AP are confirming the news. The filmmaker, who also made Philadelphia, Rachel Getting Married, and documentaries including Stop Making Sense about the Talking Heads, was first diagnosed with cancer in 2010 and it came back in 2015; his condition recently went downhill, the source says. He is survived by his wife, artist Joanne Howard, and their three children. (More obituary stories.)

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