Archive · 15 Aug 2026
Mark Rydell, Oscar-nominated 'On Golden Pond' director, dies at 97
Mark Rydell was a famous movie director who recently died at the very old age of 97.
He is best known for directing a movie called On Golden Pond.
That movie was about an older dad, his wife, and their teenage grandson spending a summer together at a cozy lake cottage.
On Golden Pond was a huge hit and received 10 Oscar nominations.
The actors Henry Fonda and Katharine Hepburn each won an Oscar for their roles in the movie.
Before he directed movies, Mark Rydell was an actor on stage and on TV soap operas.
He went on to direct many other famous films, including The Rose with Bette Midler and The Cowboys with John Wayne.
He even helped run a special acting school called The Actors Studio West.
Mark Rydell died peacefully from natural causes at a retirement home for people who worked in movies.
His daughter said he was funny, talented, and truly one of a kind.
Mark Rydell, the Oscar-nominated director of "On Golden Pond," died Thursday at age 97 of natural causes at a retirement community in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, his daughter Amy Rydell told The Hollywood Reporter.
"On Golden Pond," which teamed Henry Fonda, Katharine Hepburn and Jane Fonda, earned 10 Oscar nominations; Henry Fonda and Hepburn won acting honors and Ernest Thompson won for his adapted screenplay.
The film grossed over USD 119 million, making it the second-highest grossing movie of 1981 behind "Raiders of the Lost Ark."
Rydell directed films including "The Fox," "The Reivers," "The Rose" with Bette Midler, "The Cowboys" and "The River," and co-founded Sanford Productions with Sydney Pollack.
Born Mortimer Harold Rydell in New York City on March 23, 1929, he began his career as an actor and later co-led The Actors Studio West and taught a 2009 film workshop at UCLA.
- Who
- Mark Rydell, the Oscar-nominated director of "On Golden Pond"
- What
- He died at age 97 of natural causes at a retirement community for entertainment-industry professionals
- When
- Thursday, at age 97 (reported in an Aug. 15 AP dispatch)
- Where
- Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California
- Why
- Natural causes, according to his daughter Amy Rydell, who confirmed the death to The Hollywood Reporter
- Full name
- Mark Rydell (born Mortimer Harold Rydell on March 23, 1929, in New York City)
- Died
- Thursday at age 97, of natural causes
- Place of death
- A retirement community for entertainment-industry professionals in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles
- Signature film
- "On Golden Pond" (1981): 10 Oscar nominations, over USD 119 million gross, second-highest grossing film of 1981
- Oscar nomination
- Best Director for "On Golden Pond"; lost to Warren Beatty for "Reds"
- Other notable films
- "The Fox," "The Reivers," "The Rose," "The Cowboys," "The River"
- Notable TV work
- Pilot of ABC's "Family"; "James Dean" TV movie, which earned James Franco a Golden Globe
- Survived by
- Daughter Amy and sons Christopher and Alexander