November 11th, 2010
12:35 PM ET

Movie producer Dino De Laurentiis dies

Dino De Laurentiis produced films in Italy before moving to Hollywood.

[Update 12:30 p.m. ET] The family of Dino De Laurentiis has confirmed the film producer's death to CNN.

A statement from Raffaella De Laurentiis, family spokesperson and daughter of Dino De Laurentiis, said he died at 10 p.m. PT Wednesday at his Beverly Hills, California, home, surrounded by family.

Dino De Laurentiis in pictures on Life.com

His granddaughter, celebrity chef Giada De Laurentiis, issued this statement separately:

"My grandfather was a true inspiration. He was my biggest champion in life and a constant source for wisdom and advice. I will miss him dearly."

[Original post] Dino De Laurentiis, who produced more than 160 films and was nominated for Oscars 35 times, has died at age 91, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

De Laurentiis won the Academy Award for best foreign-language film for 1954's "La Strada," directed by fellow Italian Federico Fellini, according to imdb.com.

He produced the Jane Fonda cult classic "Barbarella" in 1968 and moved to the United States shortly after, according to Digital Spy.

He had a reputation for backing big-budget bombs, but he made good movies too. Among his credits are "Serpico," "Three Days of the Condor," "Flash Gordon," "Dune" and the 1976 remake of "King Kong."

He did not produce "The Silence of the Lambs" in 1991 but did take charge of "Hannibal" and "Hannibal Rising," according to DigitalSpy.

He was the grandfather of celebrity chef Giada De Laurentiis.

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Filed under: Obituary • Showbiz
soundoff (83 Responses)
  1. Gabe

    RIP. You'll be missed, but your legacy will last forever.

    November 11, 2010 at 2:19 pm | Report abuse |
  2. HamsterDancer

    A great loss to cinema. He has done so many films of importance you can't even add up his prominent place in movie history in the 60s, 70s, and 80s.
    Though he wasn't perfect. I remember an interview with makeup great Rick Baker who designed and ended playing King Kong in Dino's 1976 version. He said De Laurentiis had really wanted to have a black man play Kong because he thought he would be able to play a gorilla better. I don't mean to lambast him for it. Nobody's perfect and as long as he eventually learned the error of his thinking it's alright.
    My condolences to his whole family.

    November 11, 2010 at 2:39 pm | Report abuse |
  3. Cora

    Chef Giada is my faveorite chef ever i want to be a chef just like her when i grow up.I never saw any of his movies but i would love to though.

    November 11, 2010 at 3:14 pm | Report abuse |
  4. Dave

    Jimmy Cagney's last film, Ragtime. Always thought that film was under-rated.

    November 11, 2010 at 3:28 pm | Report abuse |
  5. jimbojones

    God needed a B-movie producer...

    November 11, 2010 at 3:49 pm | Report abuse |
  6. Lou from NH

    RIP Mr. DeLaurentis – you truly were a revolutionary figure in film.

    November 11, 2010 at 4:25 pm | Report abuse |
  7. SB

    Thank you for Flash, Conan, Army of Darkness, and even Dune, which have all wound their way into my consciousness. And also for the epic Waterloo - no cgi here folks, just a lot of extras and a helicopter to film them all.

    November 11, 2010 at 4:38 pm | Report abuse |
  8. Frank Booth

    No one even mentioned Blue velvet?

    November 11, 2010 at 5:04 pm | Report abuse |
  9. richard maybruck

    Had a great time finding you a ship to transport the monkey (king kong 1976) you w2ill be missed

    November 11, 2010 at 5:13 pm | Report abuse |
  10. marilyn45

    he leaves behind an awesome legacy and beautiful family. i love giada his granddaughter. she is a wonderful chef.

    November 11, 2010 at 6:20 pm | Report abuse |
  11. paul

    The movies they listed all were crap. How'd he get nominated for 35 oscars?

    November 11, 2010 at 6:27 pm | Report abuse |
  12. almxx

    Dying is what happens at the end of everyone's life.

    November 11, 2010 at 6:44 pm | Report abuse |
  13. GianCarlo

    My condolences to Giadda and her family. I love you Giadda. Bless you and your family.

    November 11, 2010 at 6:49 pm | Report abuse |
  14. Footwhat

    Who?

    November 11, 2010 at 6:51 pm | Report abuse |
  15. eric g

    true to the end

    e

    November 11, 2010 at 8:23 pm | Report abuse |
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