LOS ANGELES - Richard Glatzer, who with longtime partner and husband Wash Westmoreland made several notable mainstream films, including 2014's Still Alice, which earned actress Julianne Moore her first Oscar at the recent Academy Awards celebration, and Quinceañera, the small 2006 film that made a big impression at Sundance, died Tuesday following a long struggle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, better known by its initials ALS. Glatzer was 63.
As many articles have noted, elements of Still Alice, in which, according to NPR, "Julianne Moore plays a brilliant linguistics professor struggling with early onset Alzheimer's disease," mirrored the filmmakers' situation. "Shortly before they took the project on," added NPR, "Glatzer was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease, or ALS. That's why Westmoreland calls this the best of times and the worst of times."
Westmoreland is also know within the adult entertainment industry as Wash West, the award-winning gay porn director who shot for such studios as Jet Set Productions and All West from the late '90s into the mid-2000s. At Jet Set, he directed The Hole, which went on to become one of the most successful movies in the company’s history.
Jet Set's president and CEO Nick Boyias was also the main backer of Quinceañera, as well as its executive producer.
Westmoreland and Glatzer met in 1996, according to the Huffington Post, adding that the couple "collaborated on four films as co-writers and directors, including the 2006 Sundance Grand Jury Prize and Audience winner Quinceañera.
"Glatzer also worked on a number of television shows including Road Rules, Divorce Court and America's Next Top Model," added the site.
Wednesday, Westmoreland issued a statement that read, "I am devastated. Rich was my soul mate, my collaborator, my best friend and my life."
He added of his husband, "Richard was a unique guy— opinionated, funny, caring, gregarious, generous, and so, so smart. A true artist and a brilliant man. I treasure every day of the short twenty years we had together. I cannot believe he has gone. But in my heart and the hearts of those who loved him he will always be alive."
HuffPo noted, "In addition to Westmoreland, Glatzer is survived by his daughter, Ruby Smith; his sister, Joan Kodner, and her husband, David; and his nieces and nephews."
Pictured, l-r: Wash West and Richard Glatzer.
