Ismail Merchant passes away

The Merchant Ivory producer, who was responsible for such classic period dramas as 'A Room with a View' and 'Howard's End', dies at the age of 68.

May 26 2005

Producer Ismail Merchant, who formed one half of the hugely successful Merchant Ivory partnership, died in a London hospital on Wednesday. He was 68.

Merchant, whose producing credits include 'Maurice', 'A Room with a View' and 'Heat and Dust', met James Ivory in 1961, at which point they decided to set up a production company to make films in India to sell to the international market.

The result was Merchant Ivory Productions, a hugely successful collaboration that was responsible for more than 40 films, many with screenwriter Ruth Prawer Jhabvala.

Best known for costume drama, they garnered 31 Academy Award nominations over the years, including three for Best Picture.

Sir Anthony Hopkins, who worked with the pair on 'Howard's End', 'The Remains of the Day' and 'Surviving Picasso', said: 'I'm deeply saddened to hear about the passing of Ismail Merchant.'

Hopkins added: 'He was a great man and a true pioneer.'

Merchant had just finished work on 'The White Countess', a period piece set in 1930s Shanghai that stars Ralph Fiennes, Natasha Richardson and Vanessa Redgrave.