News

Judith James, producer of “Quiz Show” and “Mad Dog Time” and Richard Dreyfuss’ longtime collaborator, died in Santa Barbara after a bout with cancer. She was 86.

James’ friend, Alex. B Block, confirmed the news to Variety.

James’ was an accomplished producer who worked alongside Dreyfuss on projects including “Funny, You Don’t Look 200: A Constitutional Vaudeville,” “Prisoner of Honor” and “The Lightkeepers.”

“From the minute I met Judy James at the Mark Taper Forum, I knew I had found someone who had the same passion for storytelling that I did,” Dreyfuss said in a statement. “In all the years we were producing partners, we were of like mind, not gender, and we always found a way to agree and wouldn’t have done anything without each other’s approval. She was a wonderful woman and a great friend.”

James was born in Worcester, Mass., and graduated from Vassar College...

Judith James, a film, TV and Broadway producer who was Richard Dreyfuss’ producing partner for many years and worked on such projects as Quiz Show, Mr. Holland’s Opus and Eleanor: In Her Own Words, has died July 14 of cancer in Santa Barbara, CA. She was 86.

Her son, Jackson James, revealed the news.

“From the minute I met Judy James at the Mark Taper Forum [in Los Angeles], I knew I had found someone who had the same passion for storytelling that I did,” The Goodbye Girl Oscar winner Dreyfuss said in a statement. “In all the years we were producing partners, we were of like mind, not gender, and we always found a way to agree and wouldn’t have done anything without each others’ approval. She was a wonderful woman and a great friend.”

Born Judith Rutherford, James moved to New York after college to pursue a career in theater. She...

Judith James, the longtime producing partner of Richard Dreyfuss who worked with the Oscar winner on films including Mr. Holland’s Opus, Quiz Show and Mad Dog Time, has died. She was 86.

James died Friday at her home in Santa Barbara after a bout with cancer, according to her son, Jackson James.

James and Dreyfuss worked together for 35 years, and their partnership also included the telefilms Funny, You Don’t Look 200: A Constitutional Vaudeville and the Prisoner of Honor, which aired in 1987 and 1991, respectively, and The Lightkeepers (2009). They were co-writers on You Don’t Look 200 as well.

“From the minute I met Judy James at the Mark Taper Forum, I knew I had found someone who had the same passion for storytelling that I did,” Dreyfuss said in a statement. “In all the years we were producing partners, we were of like mind, not gender, and we always found...