So sorry to hear Mark Rydell has passed away
The famed director and actor was 97, and living in the Motion Picture home in Woodland Hills.
Rydell was one half of the first soap opera super couple, Jeff and Penny, on “As the World Turns,” circa 1960. (Rosemary Prinz, aka Penny, is still alive.)
He appeared in a lot of prime time TV at that time before becoming a full time director of nighttime shows.
Rydell got into movies with hit films like “Cinderella Liberty” and “Harry and Walter Go to New York,” each starring his friend, Elliot Gould. In 1980, he was nominated for Best Director of “On Golden Pond,” which won Best Picture.
His other movies included Bette Midler in “The Rose,” and a pre-scandal Mel Gibson in “The River.”
In his later years, Rydell appeared as an actor again, in films like Woody Allen’s “Hollywood Ending.”
Rydell’s wife, Joanna Linville, died in 2021. Their grandson is married to Billie Lourd, daughter of CAA chief Bryan Lourd and the late Carrie Fisher (and granddaughter of Debbie Reynolds).
May his memory be a blessing.
