His Breakthrough Hit Was Initially Turned Down by Every Studio

Charles Shyer, the Oscar-nominated writer and filmmaker known for classic comedies like Private Benjamin, Baby Boom, and Father of the Bride that he made alongside Nancy Meyers, has died. He was 83. Shyer died in Los Angeles on Friday, his daughter, filmmaker Hallie Meyers-Shyer told the AP. No cause was disclosed. A son of Hollywood, whose father Melville Shyer was one of the founding members of the Directors Guild of America, Shyer made an indelible mark on comedies, mostly of the romantic persuasion, in the 1980s and 1990s. Shyer cut his teeth writing for television, assisting Garry Marshall and working on shows like The Odd Couple before transitioning to films including Smokey and the Bandit, Jack Nicholson's Goin' South, and the Walter Matthau drama House Calls.

A big breakthrough came with Private Benjamin, the Goldie Hawn comedy about a wealthy woman who inadvertently signs up for basic training, which he co-wrote with Meyers and Harvey Miller. It was a script that was initially turned down by every studio in Hollywood, even with Hawn attached to star and produce. "We went to a meeting at Paramount after they read the script, and Mike Eisner was the president of the studio, and we sat in his office with Mike and (producer) Don Simpson. And Mike said to Goldie, 'This is a mistake for you to make this movie,'" Shyer told Indiewire in 2022. "God bless Don Simpson who spoke up and said, 'Mike, you're 100% wrong on this one.'"

The movie became one of the biggest hits of 1980. It got an Oscar nomination and a win from the Writers Guild and also paved the way for his directorial debut Irreconcilable Differences. That film, which he also wrote with Meyers (they married in 1980), starred Shelley Long and Ryan O'Neal. Shyer and Meyers followed that up with Baby Boom and Father of the Bride.

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Shyer and Meyers' last collaboration before divorcing in 1999 was the remake of The Parent Trap, with Lindsay Lohan. Their daughters Annie and Hallie, whose names were used for Lohan's twin characters, both appeared in the film. Shyer went on to remake Alfie, with Jude Law; the Hilary Swank period drama The Affair of the Necklace; and the Julia Roberts and Nick Nolte movie I Love Trouble. He stepped away from directing but returned in recent years with two Netflix Christmas romcoms: The Noel Diary and Best. Christmas. Ever!

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