Charles Shyer, ‘Father of the Bride’ Director, Dead at 83

Charles Shyer, director of Father of the Bride and Baby Boom and cowriter of the Oscar-nominated Private Benjamin, died Friday, as Variety reports. He was 83. The cause of death was not disclosed.

“It’s with an indescribably heavy heart that we share the news of our beloved father, Charles Shyer’s passing,” his family said in a statement to Deadline. “His loss leaves an unfillable hole in our lives, but his legacy lives on through his children and the five decades of wonderful work he’s left behind. We honor the extraordinary life he led and know there will never be another quite like him.”

The Los Angeles-born and raised Shyer started his career working with Jerry Belson and Garry Marshall on the popular television sitcom, The Odd Couple, eventually becoming a head writer for the series. His TV writing credits also include work on Happy Days and The Partridge Family prior to launching into feature films.

In 1977, he received his first feature film credit for Smokey and the Bandit starring Burt Reynolds. He later teamed up with Nancy Meyers and Harvey Miller to cowrite 1980’s Private Benjamin starring Goldie Hawn. The comedy film became a surprise box office hit, with Shyer, Meyers, and Miller nominated for original screenplay and Hawn nominated for Best Actress at the Oscars.

Shyer and Meyers, who married the year Private Benjamin hit theaters, had a fruitful creative partnership, with a string of blockbuster hits. Among them was 1981’s Shyer-directed Baby Boom starring Diane Keaton, which the couple cowrote; the Shyer-directed, Meyers cowritten remake of Father of the Bride (1991); and its sequel cowritten by the pair and directed by Shyer. Shyer and Meyers also cowrote 1984’s Irreconcilable Differences, which Shyer directed. They divorced in 1999. The Meyers-directed The Parent Trap (1998) starring Lindsay Lohan, which was cowritten by Meyers, Shyer, and David Swift, was their final collaboration.

Shyer went on to direct 2001’s The Affair of the Necklace and 2004’s Alfie starring Jude Law. He most recently directed Netflix’s The Noel Diary from 2022 and he co-wrote 2023’s Best. Christmas. Ever.