What did the Oscar-winning “Titanic” and “Avatar” producer die of at the age of 63?

Jon Landaua Oscar-winning producer who worked closely with the director James Cameron on three of the biggest blockbusters of all time, “Titanic” and two “Avatar” films, has died. He was 63 years old.

Landau’s family announced his death on Saturday. A cause of death was not given.

Landau’s collaboration with Cameron resulted in three Oscar nominations and a Best Picture award for Titanic in 1997. Together, the two created some of the biggest blockbusters in film history, including Avatar and its sequel, Avatar: The Way of Water.

Cameron remembered in a statement “a dear friend and my closest collaborator for 31 years.” “A part of me was ripped away,” Cameron said.

“His wacky humor, personal magnetism, great generosity and fierce will have been at the center of our Avatar universe for nearly two decades,” Cameron said. “His legacy is not just the films he produced, but the personal example he set – indomitable, caring, inclusive, tireless, compassionate and utterly one of a kind.”

Landau’s career began in the 1980s as a production manager and he gradually climbed the career ladder until he served as co-producer of “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids” and “Dick Tracy.”

He took over the producer role on “TitanicCameron’s expensive epic about the infamous shipping disaster of 1912. The bet paid off: “Titanic” was the first film whose worldwide box office revenue exceeded the one billion dollar mark and won eleven Oscars, including the one for Best Picture.

“I can’t act, I can’t compose, I can’t do visual effects, so I guess that’s why I’m a producer,” Landau said as he accepted the award alongside Cameron.

Their partnership continued, and Landau became a top executive at Cameron’s Lightstorm Entertainment. In 2009, the pair watched “Avatar,” a science fiction epic shot and released in theaters using groundbreaking 3D technology, surpass the box office success of “Titanic.” It remains the highest-grossing film of all time.

Its sequel, “Avatar: The Way of Water,” is third on the list.

“Your wisdom and support have impacted so many of us in ways we will always be grateful for,” said Zoe Saldaña, one of the stars of the “Avatar” series, in an emotional tribute on Instagram. “Your legacy will continue to inspire us and guide us on our journey.”

Landau was a key figure in the “Avatar” franchise, which has seen frequent delays in the release of “The Way of Water.” Landau defended the sequel’s progress and Cameron’s ambitious plans to shoot multiple sequels simultaneously to keep the franchise going.

“A lot of things have changed, but a lot of things haven’t,” Landau told The Associated Press in 2022, a few months before the sequel’s release. “One of the things that hasn’t changed is: Why do people turn to entertainment today? Just like when the first ‘Avatar’ came out, they do it to escape, to escape the world we live in.”

“Jon was a visionary whose extraordinary talent and passion brought some of the most unforgettable stories to life on screen. His remarkable contributions to the film industry have left an indelible mark and we will miss him deeply. He was an iconic and successful producer, but also an even better human being and a true force of nature who inspired everyone around him,” Alan Bergman, co-chairman of Disney Entertainment, said in a statement.

At age 29, Landau was named executive vice president of feature films at 20th Century Fox, where he was responsible for major box office hits such as Home Alone and its sequel, as well as Mrs. Doubtfire and True Lies, where he worked closely with Cameron for the first time.

Landau was also instrumental in bringing the manga adaptation “Alita: Battle Angel” to the screen in 2019. Cameron supported the project, but his “Avatar” commitments prevented him from directing. Instead, Landau worked with director Robert Rodriguez to complete the film.

Landau was born on July 23, 1960, in New York City to film producers Ely and Edie Landau. The family moved to Los Angeles in the 1970s, and Landau graduated from the University of Southern California’s film school.

Ely Landau died in 1993. Edie Landau, the Oscar-nominated producer of films such as Long Day’s Journey Into Night, Hopscotch and The Deadly Game, died in 2022.

Jon Landau leaves behind his wife Julie, with whom he was married for almost 40 years, their sons Jamie and Jodie, as well as two sisters and a brother.