Charles Shyer, the American film director, screenwriter, and producer behind films such as “Private Benjamin” and “Baby Boom,” passed away on Friday, December 27, at the age of 83.
In a statement given to Deadline, his family wrote, “It’s with an indescribably heavy heart that we share the news of our beloved father, Charles Shyer’s passing. His loss leaves an unfillable hole in our lives, but his legacy lives on through his children and the five decades of wonderful work he’s left behind. We honor the extraordinary life he led and know there will never be another quite like him.”
Born on October 11, 1941, in Los Angeles, California, Shyer was the son of Lois Delaney and Melville Shyer, a production executive and film director who co-founded the Directors Guild of America. Shyer later benefited from his father’s work, participating in the guild’s apprenticeship program following his studies at UCLA. His career began on the 1970s TV sitcom version of Neil Simon’s “The Odd Couple,” where he served as an assistant to Garry Marshall and Jerry Belson, then later head writer and associate producer.
Following his work on the series, Shyer met Nancy Meyers and together, they would help revitalize the comedy and romantic comedy genre throughout the 80s and 90s, starting with their Oscar-nominated screenplay for “Private Benjamin,” co-written with Harvey Miller. The film, starring Goldie Hawn and Eileen Brennan, would go on to be one of the highest grossing films of the year, later spawning a short-lived television series.
Shyer would soon grow from screenwriter to director, helming projects such as “Irreconcilable Differences” (1984), “Baby Boom” (1987), “Father of the Bride” (1991), and its sequel “Father of the Bride Part II” (1995), all of which were co-written with Meyers, at that point his wife. He also worked with Meyers when she stepped behind the camera, co-writing and producing her directorial debut, “The Parent Trap” (1998), before eventually divorcing in 1999. Together, they had two daughters, including Hallie Meyers-Shyer, who followed in her parents’ footsteps, writing and directing films such as “Home Again” (2017) and “Goodrich” (2024).
Shyer’s first film credit came as a writer on the Burt Reynolds comedy “Smokey and the Bandit” and he also served as a screenwriter on two films directed by Jack Nicholson, “House Calls” and “Goin’ South.” He continued working in his later life, writing and directing “The Noel Diary” for Netflix in 2022 and serving as a co-screenwriter and producer on “Best. Christmas. Ever!” in 2023.
Speaking to IndieWire in 2022 in regards to “The Noel Diary” and how the film industry had changed since he began working in it, Shyer said, “It’s scary out there. I have four kids, including a 16-year-old son, and I worry because he wants to be a filmmaker. I think, ‘Fuck, man. It’s not like it was when I started out, which was a much easier road.’ It was always hard, and you always had to have talent or some kind of commercial viability. But I worry, it’s so narrow now, the road to success.”
Shyer is survived by his three daughters and son.
