The casting director and CSA co-founder were 85 – Deadline

Mike Fenton, casting director of hundreds of films and TV shows, including classics Chinatown, American graffiti, One flew over the cuckoo’s nest, The bad news bears, Norma Rai, Godfather: Part 2, Gonzalez, ET, Indiana Jones and Riders of the Lost Ark, Blade Runner, Back to the future And Chaplin Have died. He was 85 years old. Fant also co-founded the American Casting Society in 1982.

Steven Spielberg worked on several projects with Fenton as both director and producer Sugarland Express, the director’s first facility. Spielberg was one of the first to lose weight on the passing of Fenton. Among other things, he remembered Pants as a passion advocate for artists.

Spielberg:

Working with Mike Fenton was like working in a candy store – he created Blasting. His fierce support from the actors was the stuff of legend, and after one episode landed, the smile of any actor was hardly as wide as Mike’s. Not only did he support the actors, he started the Crusades. And he himself was a pretty good actor, because he always read dialogues with K. Mero to create energy and fun for the person reading for that part. Like the actors he advocated for, Mike loved his role – and the people around him loved him so much, and I will miss him so much.

Fenton’s advocacy also expanded into his own business. In 1982, he co-founded the American Society of Casting Directors, which later became the American Casting Society.

“In 1980, we were making the only large group movies that didn’t have a union,” he said in a 2019 interview for the CSA Archive Project. “There were a lot of people who decided they didn’t want a union. But David Rubin is a genius, and he was capable in [mid-2000s] He needed the union almost alone to convince the casting director. And I think now the old casting directors have realized what I was talking about where I was screaming for union in the 1980s. I hope he likes it as much as I like it because it’s so important. “

Professionally, Fante received 11 career CSA Award nominations and two wins, both for miniseries. He was also awarded the Hoyt Bowers Award by the CSA in 1989 for a lifetime achievement. That award goes not only to the organization working, but to “excellence in casting” and “outstanding contribution to the casting business.”

Also accomplished in Fenton television. Along with many TV movies and miniseries, Fanten cast a string including ’60 classics. That girl, Gomer Pile: USMC And Andy Griffith Show. Fenton was an associate producer I spy And cast seven episodes of the hit show.

CSA vice-presidents Russell Bost and Rich Mento issued the following statement following the news of Fenton’s death:

American casting society co-founder Mike Fenton is saddened by the death. His remarkable achievements and his incredible work in raising awareness and appreciation of the casting craft determine his legacy in the entertainment industry. CSA extends her love and support to her beloved family and friends.
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Check out the 2019 CSA conversation with Mike Fenton below.