Former US film academy president dies

Los Angeles: Fay Kanin, Hollywood screenwriter and former president of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), has died at Beverly Hills, California. She was 95. AMPAS confirmed the death of its first full-term female president Wednesday but failed to provide any details about her survivors and cause of death, reports Xinhua. Born Fay Mitchell May 9, 1917 in New York city, Kanin attended University of Southern California and became a story editor at the RKO Pictures. [caption id=“attachment_677919” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Reuters[/caption] She met Michael Kanin, who later became her husband and writing partner, and the duo embarked on a long writing career. The Kanins cooperated on such unremarkable films including 1952 comedy “My Pal Gus,” the 1954 Elizabeth Taylor film “Rhapsody” and 1956 musical remake “The Opposite Sex”. In 1958, their work on “Teacher’s Pet”, which starred Clark Gable and Doris Day in a love-hate relationship, paid off, as the comedy earned the couple their only Oscar nomination. The couple were also active on Broadway, working on such dramas including “Rashomon,” an adaptation of the classic Akira Kurosawa film. Kanin served as the second female AMPAS president from 1979-83, following in the footsteps of earlier president Bette Davis, who left after only one month in 1941. Kanin has also served as the president of the Screen Branch of the Writers Guild of America. She was also a member of the Board of AMPAS, and sat on the Board of Directors of the American Film Institute. IANS