He was a flamboyant director who could count Brat Pack and Batman movies among his varied output.
Joel Schumacher became one of the pre-eminent genre filmmakers of the 1990s after the success of St Elmo’s Fire with Rob Lowe, Demi Moore, Emilio Estevez and Ally Sheedy, and teen vampire horror The Lost Boys.
And after films including Flatliners and A Time To Kill, Schumacher inherited the DC universe from Tim Burton.
His garish take on Batman resulted in two of the franchise’s most cartoonish movies in 1995’s Batman Forever and 1997’s Batman & Robin.
Schumacher also directed the Colin Farrell-starring Vietnam boot camp drama Tigerland and thriller Phone Booth, as well as The Phantom Of The Opera.
But initially, the movie maker made his name in the world of fashion.
Joel Schumacher has passed away. He saw deeper things in me than most and he lived a wonderfully creative and heroic life. I am grateful to have had him as a friend. pic.twitter.com/7kOeJ96rL8
— Jim Carrey (@JimCarrey) June 22, 2020
Born in New York City in 1939, he studied at Parsons the New School for Design and the Fashion Institute of Technology.
He later moved to Los Angeles and found work as a costume designer, starting out on a number of Woody Allen films.
Schumacher’s career then began to move towards filmmaking. He wrote a number of screenplays, including 1976 musical drama Sparkle and the 1978 adaptation of stage play The Wiz.
He made his directorial debut in 1981 with The Incredible Shrinking Woman, but it was Brat Pack drama St Elmo’s Fire in which he truly made his mark on Hollywood.
In the years that followed, Schumacher found box office success again and again.
This was not always matched with critical acclaim, but his work often resonated with audiences regardless.
His final credit was for directing two episodes of Netflix drama House of Cards in 2013.
A representative for Schumacher said the filmmaker died aged 80 on Monday in New York after a year-long battle with cancer.
— Kiefer Sutherland (@RealKiefer) June 22, 2020
Actor Kiefer Sutherland, who featured in a number of Schumacher’s films, said: “His joy, spirit and talent will live on in my heart and memory for the rest of my life.
“Joel gave me opportunities and lifelong lessons, making films such as Lost Boys, Flatliners, A Time To Kill and Phone Booth.
“His mark on modern culture and film will live on forever.”
St Elmo’s Fire star Rob Lowe said: “Joel saw things others could not.
“When casting St Elmo’s Fire, everyone thought I should play the yuppie, but Joel knew I could play the Bad Boy.
“He was hilarious. He had extraordinary taste.
“The images from his films are timeless snapshots of their era.”
