Courtesy: Art Center College of DesignIt only took one film for Michael Gottlieb to make his mark in Hollywood.
The writer and director of the cult-classic comedy Mannequin, starring a pre-Sex and the City Kim Cattrall as the real-woman version of a department-store mannequin come to life, died May 23 of injuries suffered in a motorcycle accident, according to reports. He was 69.
"Very sad," tweeted Andrew McCarthy, who starred as the lovable nerd who wished Cattrall's Mannequin into being.
The accident occurred on the Angeles Crest Highway in nearby La Cañada Flintridge. Gottlieb was on his 2012 Ducati, riding behind a 2003 Toyota when he "crossed into opposing traffic in an attempt to pass [the Toyota[," California Highway Patrol said in a statement, per Entertainment Weekly. The vehicles collided when both drivers attempted to turn left and Gottlieb, who was wearing a helmet, was thrown from his motorcycle. "As a result of the collision, he received severe head trauma and a broken neck, and succumbed to his injuries," the statement read.
Gottlieb was a Clio Award-winning commercial director and helmer of a handful of movies, Mannequin being his first feature and 1995's A Kid in King Arthur's Court being his last. He most recently was a professor of film at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, Calif., teaching screenwriting in both the graduate and undergraduate departments.
"Michael Gottlieb was superbly talented in an unusual number of creative disciplines," ACCD film chair Ross LaManna said in a statement posted on the school's site. "His love for his students and generosity with his time and expertise were second to none. He mentored, guided, cheer-led and scolded hundreds of students through the challenging process of writing a feature-length screenplay and took enormous pride in their accomplishments."
The New York-born filmmaker also helmed The Shrimp on the Barbie, starring Cheech Marin, and the 1993 comedy Mr. Nanny with Hulk Hogan.
Gottlieb then ventured into video game production, his work including a number of Mortal Kombat titles, 1999's Paperboy and Midway Arcade Treasures 3 in 2005.
He is survived by three daughters.