Emmy Nominee Dies of Endometrial Cancer: Jackie Burch Was 74

Casting director Jackie Burch has died. She was 74.

She died after a four month long battle with endometrial cancer while at home in Atlanta, according to her fellow casting director and friend Gail Goldberg.

Burch was an extremely accomplished casting director. She is most known for her frequent collaborations with John Hughes, who she worked with on The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, and Weird Science, and her many collaborations with John Landis, which were Coming to America, Three Amigos!, Into the Night, Oscar, and Beverly Hills Cop III.

She also worked with Arnold Schwarzenegger on several films, including The Running Man, Predator, Commando, and Red Heat, and famously played a big part in the casting of Alan Rickman as the villain in the Bruce Willis-starring Die Hard.

In 2015, she received an Emmy nomination for her work on HBO’s film Bessie, starring Queen Latifah as the iconic blues artist Bessie Smith.

Before becoming a casting director, she was a teacher of the deaf.

She is survived by her sister, Janice, and her two daughters—one of whom, Samy Burch, is an Oscar-nominated screenwriter for her work on the 2023 film May December.

“We are heartbroken and in shock at the prospect of living without our vibrant, charming, funny, special and incredibly loving mom,” her daughters wrote in a statement. “Her generous spirit touched so many lives — professionally and personally — and we are endlessly proud of the legacy she leaves behind.”