Richard L. O'Connor died July 22 in Palm Desert, California, at age 96. His family confirmed his death to Variety.
O'Connor worked as the executive in charge of production on the Muppets' first feature film, The Muppet Movie, released in 1979. His credits also included On Golden Pond, Raise the Titanic, Barbarosa and a long list of television movies and series.
A career across film and television
O'Connor won an Emmy in 1990 for producing the television drama A Mother's Courage: The Mary Thomas Story. He also received Emmy nominations for The Final Days, about the closing months of Richard Nixon's presidency, and the miniseries Fatal Vision.
Born in San Francisco in 1930, O'Connor served in the U.S. Marine Corps during the Korean War with his twin brother, Don. He later moved to Los Angeles and started at CBS Television City in the mailroom. His final producing credit came on the 2001 television movie Face Value.
The Muppets reach the big screen
The Muppet Movie brought Kermit, Fozzie, Miss Piggy and the rest of Jim Henson's troupe to theaters after The Muppet Show had established the characters on television. The road comedy follows Kermit's trip from the swamp to Hollywood and introduced “Rainbow Connection,” which earned an Academy Award nomination for best original song.
O'Connor's credit sat on the practical side of that leap, overseeing production as the Muppets left the studio format for locations, vehicles and a feature-length story. The film joined the National Film Registry in 2009.
Sources: Variety's family-confirmed report, the O'Connor family obituary and Disney D23's history of The Muppet Movie.
Image: Disney D23.