Hollywood scion Daniel Selznick dies in CA at age 88

The ranks of those with direct connections to the Golden Age of Hollywood continues to dwindle with each passing year, a fact made plain by the recent death of a true film industry scion.

As Fox News reports, Daniel Selznick, son of legendary producer David O. Selznick and grandson of MGM co-founder Louis B. Mayer, has died at the age of 88.

Passing of Hollywood royalty

His death, said to have been the result of natural causes, came Thursday at the Motion Picture & Television Fund Country Home retirement community in Woodland Hills, California.

A well-regarded producer in his own right, Daniel Selznick's credits include the award-winning The Making of a Legend: 'Gone with the Wind,' a film paying tribute to his father's cinematic tour de force, as well as television miniseries Blood Feud.

Selznick was also responsible for the 1987 TV production of Hoover vs. the Kennedys, the film Night Drive and Reagan's Way: Pathway to the Presidency, as Variety noted.

The son of Hollywood spent much of his career working to preserve the legacy of classic filmmaking, serving for years as the director of the Louis B. Mayer Foundation.

A longtime resident of the Country Home community, he helped spearhead the building of the complex's theater in the 60s and its subsequent remodeling in the 90s.

Remembering a true friend of film

In tribute to Selznick, the Motion Picture & Television Fund declared, “Residents and staff...will remember him for his intelligence, charm, sweetness, and generosity.”

Notably, current and future film aficionados will be able to learn more about Selznick's long and storied experiences in Tinseltown by reading his memoir, Walking with Kings, which is slated for publication in 2025.

An obituary published this week indicated that Selznick had been married three times, but left no immediate survivors.

However, that is not to say that there is little with which film fans everywhere can keep his memory and indelible Hollywood background alive.

Thanks to his own film producing credits, his theatrical credits, and the devotion he had to preserving the legacy built by his ancestors, the legacy of Daniel Selznick will continue to bear fruit for students and fans of old Hollywood for decades to come.