PASSINGS / Wayne Lewellen
Wayne Lewellen, 65, former longtime head of distribution for Paramount Pictures, died of cancer Thursday at his home in Los Angeles, according to publicist Sean Rossall.
During Lewellen’s 40-year career, he was responsible for the distribution of some of Hollywood’s most successful films, including “Titanic,†“Forrest Gump,†“Top Gun†and three of the four movies in the “Indiana Jones†saga.
Born in Texas, Lewellen began his career in 1965 for Warner Bros. in Dallas, where he booked the cartoons that accompanied features.
He joined Paramount in 1973 as the branch manager of the studio’s Texas-Oklahoma office after a four-year stint with Columbia Pictures.
He became head of distribution in the early 1990s and held the post until he left the studio in 2005.
“In my entire experience in the motion picture industry, no one did as good a job as Wayne Lewellen,†Sumner Redstone, owner and chief executive of Viacom Inc., said in a statement. “Not only was Wayne a good executive, he was a great and loyal friend.â€
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