The world learned just the other day of that the Oscar award-winning director Jonathan Demme, passed away at the age of 73. Demme was born on February 22, 1994, in Baldwin, New York. He is said to have died after losing the battle to esophageal cancer on April 26, 2017. He directed many music videos in the late 80s and early 90s, but is best known for directing movies such as “The Silence of the Lambs,” “Stop Making Sense,” “Philadelphia,” and “The Manchurian Candidate.” He won an Oscar for the film “The Silence of the Lambs” and had been nominated for 29 other awards since he started his career in 1980. He was also voted the 45th greatest director of all time by Entertainment Weekly.

David Edelstein, a friend of Demme’s, stated that, “Jonathan Demme was never a brand-name director like Spielberg or Scorsese, though he was as great. He saw his job as showing actors (and in documentaries, musicians or politicians) just as human beings in their most brilliant light. Jonathan Demme was our most contagious enthusiast. I loved the guy. I can’t believe I’ll never again bump into him again in line for a movie and hear him rave about some filmmaker whose work I have to see. But he was a believer in the spirit world, in karma. I’d like to think he’ll continue watching over us, reminding us that where there’s art, there’s hope.”

Demme’s contribution to the world of entertainment and cinematography has been an incredible ride, and will never be forgotten.