'Still Alice' writer and director, Richard Glatzer dies

Richard Glatzer who helped create the film, Still Alice by writing and directing alongside his husband, Wash Westmoreland, has died at 63.

Glatzer suffered from ALS during the filming of Still Alice in which Julianne Moore won her Academy Award for her role as Alice, a college professor struggling with early onset Alzheimer’s disease. He was diagnosed with ALS in 2013. Still Alice began filming in 2011.

He talked to the cast and crew through his Ipad, typing with one finger and a text-to-speech app. As his symptoms worsened he would “speak” only by using the big toe of his right foot and tapping on a specially designed iPad.

Glatzer was born on Jan. 28, 1952, in Flushing, Queens. He attended the University of Michigan, then he earned a doctorate in English at the University of Virginia, where his work with the school’s film program led to a connection with the director Frank Capra. He later taught screenwriting at the New School and the School of Visual Arts, both in New York.

He worked on shows like Divorce Court and America’s Next Top Model.

Glatzer met his husband in 1995, and the two exchanged their vows in 2013.

They worked together on films such as The Fluffer, The Last of Robin Hood and Quinceanera.

He died on Tuesday at his L.A. home. His publicist, Ekta Farrar, announced his death.

In a statement, Westmoreland said, "In this dark time, I take some consolation in the fact that he got to see Still Alice go out into the world. He put his heart and soul into that film, and the fact that it touched so many people was a constant joy to him.”

He is survived by his husband, Westmoreland, their daughter Ruby and his sister Joan with her husband and Glatzer’s nieces and nephews.

Credit: Matt Agudo/INFphoto.com