Charles Shyer, Director of Father of the Bride and Private Benjamin, Dies at 83

Charles Shyer, the director behind hit comedies such as Father of the Bride, has passed away at the age of 83. A representative confirmed to Entertainment Weekly that Shyer died on Friday, though the cause of death was not disclosed.

In a statement to Deadline, Shyer’s family expressed their deep sorrow: It is with an indescribably heavy heart that we share the news of our beloved father Charles Shyer's passing. His loss leaves an unfillable void in our lives, but his legacy endures through his children and the five decades of remarkable work he left behind. We honor the extraordinary life he led, and we know there will never be another quite like him.

Born in Los Angeles in 1941 to Hollywood filmmaker Melville Shyer and Lois Delaney, Shyer attended the University of California, Los Angeles. He began his career as an assistant director through the Directors Guild of America’s apprenticeship program. One of his earliest roles was as an assistant to The Odd Couple producers Garry Marshall and Jerry Belson, and by 1971, he was writing for the show. That same year, he created the short-lived TV comedy Getting Together and wrote an episode of The Partridge Family.

Shyer’s first film writing credit came in 1977 with the blockbuster Smokey and the Bandit. He followed this success by writing the 1978 Walter Matthau dramedy House Calls and Jack Nicholson's directorial debut Goin' South.

A defining moment in Charles Shyer’s writing career came with the 1980 war satire Private Benjamin. Starring Goldie Hawn as Judy Benjamin, a woman who enlists in the U.S. Army, the film earned Shyer an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay. It also marked the beginning of his collaboration with Nancy Meyers, whom he met while she was a story editor at Motown. The pair married the same year Private Benjamin was released and went on to co-write and direct over a dozen films together.

Shyer made his directorial debut in 1984 with Irreconcilable Differences, which he co-wrote with Meyers. The film starred Ryan O'Neal, Shelley Long, and Drew Barrymore in one of her first major roles. In the same year, the couple co-wrote Protocol with their Private Benjamin co-writer, Harvey Miller. Shyer and Meyers continued their successful partnership, co-writing Jumpin' Jack Flash (1986) under pseudonyms, followed by Baby Boom (1987), another gender-conscious comedy starring Diane Keaton as a Manhattan professional who unexpectedly inherits a toddler.

Their next major success came with the 1991 hit Father of the Bride, which starred Steve Martin and Keaton as a couple dealing with the stress of their daughter’s wedding. The remake of the 1950 comedy became Shyer’s most financially successful film, grossing $129 million at the box office. It was followed by a sequel, Father of the Bride Part II (1995), which Shyer directed from a script co-written with Meyers, bringing back the original cast.

In between the two Father of the Bride films, Shyer directed I Love Trouble (1994), a rom-com starring Julia Roberts and Nick Nolte, and co-wrote Once Upon a Crime. He also co-wrote and produced Meyers' 1998 directorial debut, the remake of The Parent Trap starring Lindsay Lohan.

After Shyer and Meyers divorced in 1999, his next project was The Affair of the Necklace (2001), a historical drama starring Hilary Swank. The film received an Oscar nomination for Best Costume Design. He then directed the 2004 remake of Alfie, starring Jude Law, though the film underperformed at the box office. Shyer's next directorial effort came in 2022 with The Noel Diary, a Christmas rom-com co-written with Rebecca Connor and David Golden.

Shyer and Meyers reunited for the 2017 film Home Again, which marked the directorial debut of their daughter, Hallie Meyers-Shyer. Shyer served as second unit director, while Meyers produced. His final film credit was as co-writer and executive producer on Best. Christmas. Ever! (2023). Shyer is survived by his four children.