Robert Mulligan, Hollywood Director Passes Away at 83

Variety had disclosed that Robert Mulligan director of the the classic film "To Kill a Mockingbird," died Saturday in Lyme, Conn., after a battle with heart disease. Mulligan was 83.

Mulligan was nominated for an Oscar for "Mockingbird," the adaptation of Harper Lee's bestselling, Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. The 1962 film starred Gregory Peck, who won the best actor Oscar for his portrayal of Atticus Finch. 

The New York Times wrote that the film's opening segment "achieves a bewitching indication of the excitement and thrill of being a child."

Mulligan was also known as the director of Reese Witherspoon's first film, "The Man in the Moon," which came out in 1991. It was the last film he directed.

Among his other credits were "Fear Strikes Out," the 1957 drama starring Anthony Perkins as troubled ballplayer Jim Piersall; "Summer of ‘42," the 1971 wartime coming-of-age story starring Gary Grimes and Jennifer O'Neill; and the 1972 horror hit "The Other." Additional notable features he directed included "Inside Daisy Clover," "Love With the Proper Stranger," "Up the Down Staircase" and "Same Time, Next Year," with Ellen Burstyn and Alan Alda explains Variety.

Mulligan was born in the Bronx, N.Y., and studied at Fordham U.

He is survived by his wife of 37 years, Sandy; three children; two grandchildren; and a brother.

Variety has reported that donations may be made to the Alan Rosenthal Research Fund, care of Jennifer Jacobson, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, 633 Third Ave., 28th Floor, New York, N.Y. 10017.