‘Star Wars’ and ‘Harry Potter’ director Jamie Christopher has died aged 52.
The filmmaker and producer is said to have passed away at his Los Angeles home from heart complications, Deadline reported.
He was hailed by a string of fellow movie makers for his work as first assistant director on all eight of the ‘Harry Potter’ movies, as well as a string of ‘Star Wars’ and Marvel films.
Marvel studio bosses Kevin Feige and Louis D’Esposito said in a joint statement: “We are incredibly saddened by Jamie’s passing. He has been a part of the Marvel Studios team for over a decade, and on productions like ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’, ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’, ‘Black Widow’ and more.
“He was a calm presence behind the camera, and a wonderful, supportive crew member on set.
“Jamie first joined Marvel Studios as an AD on ‘Thor: The Dark World’ and because of his hard work and diligence was upped to an Executive Producer on ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ and the upcoming ‘Fantastic Four’.
“Jamie was a beloved member of our Marvel Studios family, and he will be dearly missed. Our thoughts and deepest condolences go out to his family and friends.”
Christopher is survived by his wife, Carly, their child, Killeon, as well as his three children from an earlier marriage – Stella, Teddy and Phoebe.
Born in Britain, the director followed in the footsteps of his production manager dad Malcolm J Christopher.
His mom Penny was also in showbiz, working as a production coordinator.
Christopher started as a production runner on ‘Frederick Forsyth Presents’ in 1989 and later landed the third assistant director job on ‘Alien 3’.
He was then made second assistant director on ‘The Mummy’, ‘The Mummy Returns’, ‘Golden Eye’ and ‘The Fifth Element’, before becoming first assistant director on ‘Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone’ in 2001 – remaining with the franchise for all its instalments.