‘Glengarry Glen Ross’ and Fifty Shades of Grey’ director James Foley dies aged 71

The filmmaker, best known for directing 'Who's That Girl' with Madonna, the cult classic 'Glengarry Glen Ross', two 'Fifty Shades of Grey' sequels and several TV episodes including Twin Peaks and House Of Cards, has died after a "years-long struggle" with brain cancer.

American filmmaker James Foley, who directed the 1992 classic Glengarry Glen Ross, two Fifty Shades Of Grey sequels and TV episodes of Twin Peaks, Hannibal and House Of Cards, has died aged 71. 

A representative told The Hollywood Reporter that Foley passed away “peacefully in his sleep earlier this week” at his home in Los Angeles after a “years-long struggle” with brain cancer.

Born in Brooklyn in 1953, Foley’s debut film was Reckless in 1984, starring Daryl Hannah and Aidan Quinn. He followed that with At Close Range (1986), starring Sean Penn and Christopher Walken. This neo-noir included the Madonna song ‘Live to Tell’.

Foley would go on to work with Madonna on several music videos – ‘Live To Tell’, ‘Papa Don’t Preach’, and ‘True Blue’ - before directing the singer in 1987’s Who’s That Girl.

His most critically acclaimed film came in 1992 with the David Mamet-written Glengarry Glen Ross, starring Al Pacino, Jack Lemmon, Ed Harris, Kevin Spacey and Alec Baldwin. The film was not a box office success but became a cult classic, earning an Oscar nomination for Pacino.

In television, Foley directed episodes of David Lynch’s classic series Twin Peaks, the brilliant Hannibal series starring Mads Mikkelsen, the American drama Billions, and 12 episodes of Netflix’s hit series House Of Cards.  

His final work as a director was the 2017 and 2018 sequels to 2015’s Fifty Shades Of Grey – Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed.  

James Foley is survived by his brother Kevin, sisters Eileen and Jo Ann, and his nephew Quinn.