Academy Award-nominated director Wolfgang Petersen – who rose to fame with his German-language film “Das Boot” – has passed away. He was 81.
Petersen died of pancreatic cancer in the arms of his nearly 50-year-old wife, Maria-Antoinette, on Friday at his home in Brentwood, Los Angeles, a spokesman for the Petersen family, Michelle Bega, told The Post.
Born in Emden, Germany, Petersen began his directorial career in the 1960s, but gained popularity in 1981 with “Das Boot,” a World War II film that earned six Oscar nominations, two specifically for Petersen for directing and screenwriting.
He would create numerous action thrillers including “Enemy Mine,” “Shattered,” “Outbreak,” “Poseidon” and “Troy,” and he directed big stars such as Clint Eastwood in 1993’s “In the Line of Fire,” Harrison Ford in ” Air Force One’ (1997) and George Clooney in 2000’s ‘The Perfect Storm’. Other A-listers he worked with included Brad Pitt, Rene Russo, Glenn Close, Dustin Hoffman and Morgan Freeman.
Petersen cited the 1952 gunshots Western “High Noon” — as well as its star, screen legend Gary Cooper — as influential to his career choice. “I think ‘High Noon’ made me want to be a director,” he told The Hollywood Reporter in 2011.
In addition to his wife, Petersen leaves behind his son Daniel and daughter-in-law Berit, as well as two grandchildren, Maja and Julien.