Tracy McGrath, Veteran Physical Production Executive, Dies at 65
Tracy McGrath, who served as a physical production executive for such companies as Buena Vista Pictures, Miramax, CBS Films, New Regency, Amazon and Apple Films, has died. She was 65.
McGrath had lupus and died of other health complications two weekends ago in Los Angeles, an Apple executive said Thursday.
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A native of Hollywood, McGrath started out as director of physical production and production finance for Disney’s Buena Vista Pictures in 1996, working on films including James Mangold’s Cop Land (1997), 10 Things I Hate About You (1999) and Wes Craven’s Music of the Heart (1999).
In 1999, she began a nine-year stint in physical production for Miramax/Dimension and The Weinstein Co, overseeing such movies as Gus Van Sant’s Good Will Hunting (1997), Bad Santa (2003) and Denzel Washington’s The Great Debaters (2007).
She joined the new CBS Films as senior vp physical production in 2009, helping to establish its nascent physical production department. She worked there through 2011.
Following four years as an independent producer on features including Van Sant’s The Sea of Trees (2015), McGrath boarded New Regency Productions as senior vp physical production, where she oversaw completion of photography on Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s The Revenant (2015) and production on the Michael Fassbender-starring Assassin’s Creed (2016).
She joined Amazon Original Movies as a senior vp in 2017 before moving to Apple Films as senior vp physical production.
McGrath worked at the iconic Grauman’s Chinese Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard before graduating from Hollywood High.
After receiving her bachelor’s degree from UC Santa Cruz, she earned a master’s degree in fine arts from the AFI and was the recipient of the Mary Pickford Foundation Scholarship. She also received a master’s in French literature and language from NYU while studying at the University of Paris.
In 2019, she was elected to the board of directors at Women in Film.
McGrath was described as “the kind of studio executive that was well respected and liked by both her colleagues and filmmakers, which is no small feat.”
Survivors include her husband, Tom, son Kai and siblings Betty, Irene, Clara, Sheran and Richard.
A memorial mass will be held at 10 a.m. Monday at St. Monica Catholic Church. Donations in her memory can be made to her favorite charity, the Youth Mentoring Connection.
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