Fox, still struggling, decided to rehire Zanuck in 1962 as company president and he appointed Richard as production chief. His reign brought one huge hit, "The Sound of Music" but such other so-so films as "Crack in the Mirror," William Faulkner's "Sanctuary" and "Star!"
After his success with "Driving Miss Daisy," Richard Zanuck continued as an independent producer. Among his films: "Rush" (directed by Lili Fini Zanuck), "Chain Reaction," ''Along Came a Spider," ''Rules of Engagement," ''Planet of the Apes 2001," 2002's "The Road to Perdition" and 2005's "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory."
Richard Darryl Zanuck was born in 1934, the third child and only son of the mercurial mogul and his wife, former actress Virginia Fox Zanuck. His mother had appeared in several Buster Keaton shorts in the years before her marriage to the elder Zanuck in 1924.
Richard Zanuck had grown up at 20th Century Fox, once recalling, "When I was a kid I was playing hide-and-seek on the movie back lot."
As a student at a military school and later at Stanford University, he had worked summers at the studio in various departments, including editing and story. After graduation, he became a special assistant to his father.
Richard Zanuck's first wife was actress Lili Gentle and the couple had two daughters, Virginia and Janet. His second wife was also an actress, Linda Harrison, and they had two sons, Harrison and Dean. Both marriages ended in divorce.
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