LOS ANGELES -- Robert Wise, who twice won double Oscars as producer and director of the classic 1960s musicals "West Side Story" and "The Sound of Music," died Wednesday of heart failure. He was 91.
Wise died at the University of California, Los Angeles, Medical Center, family friend and longtime Los Angeles entertainment agent Lawrence Mirisch told The Associated Press late Wednesday night.
Mirisch said Wise, who had appeared in good health when he celebrated his 91st birthday Saturday, became ill Wednesday and was rushed to the hospital from his Century City home.
Wise was nominated for seven Oscars, including the four he won, during a career that spanned more than 50 years. The other nominations were for the editing of the 1941 Orson Welles classic "Citizen Kane," directing of 1958's "I Want to Live!" and as producer of 1966's "The Sand Pebbles," which was nominated for best picture.
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