Jon Landau, Oscar-winning Titanic Producer, Dies At 83 After A 16-Month-Long Battle With Cancer

Jon Landau, an Oscar-winning producer who worked closely with director James Cameron on Titanic and the Avatar series, died on July 5 in Los Angeles after a 16-month-long battle with cancer. He was 63. Alan Bergman, Disney Entertainment co-chairman, confirmed Landau's death in a statement on Saturday.

“Jon was a visionary whose extraordinary talent and passion brought some of the most unforgettable stories to life on the big screen. His remarkable contributions to the film industry have left an indelible mark, and he will be profoundly missed. He was an iconic and successful producer yet an even better person and a true force of nature who inspired all around him,” said Bergman.

Who was Jon Landau?

Jon Landau was the son of Edie, a producer, and Ely A. Landau, a studio executive and producer. He attended the USC School of Cinematic Arts. His career began in the 1980s as a production manager and gradually rose through the ranks until taking on a producer role on Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet starrer Titanic (1997). It was Cameron's expensive epic about the infamous disaster. The movie became the highest-grossing film of all time, the first ever to reach $1 billion in gross revenues and went on to win 11 Oscars, including Best Picture.

In 2009, Landau joined hands with James Cameron's other movie the science fiction blockbuster Avatar, which was a bigger hit than Titanic. Avatar earned Landau his second Academy Award nomination.

Landau's partnership with Cameron led to three Oscar nominations and together the pair account for some of the biggest blockbusters in movie history, including Avatar and its sequels.

Apart from these, he has also produced Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, Dick Tracy, Campus Man, Solaris and Alita: Battle Angel.