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Michael Cimino dies; directed 'The Deer Hunter' and 'Heaven's Gate'

Michael Cimino, the Academy-Award-winning director of the acclaimed 1978 film "The Deer Hunter," is dead.

As Variety reported, many details of Cimino's life were murky, including his age. He was believed to be 77.

Born in New York City, he directed eight motion pictures, including "Thunderbolt and Lightfoot" - for which Jeff Bridges earned an Oscar nomination - and the disastrously over-budget "Heaven's Gate," which essentially felled his rising career.

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The news of Cimino's passing was tweeted by Cannes Film Festival director Thierry Fremaux, who wrote that Cimino was surrounded by the two women who loved him. "We loved him too," Fremaux said.

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Cimino earned art degrees from both Michigan State and Yale universities.

"The Deer Hunter" was his second film and at the time was a groundbreaking big-screen treatment of the Vietnam War. It earned Oscar nominations for Christopher Walken (who won), Robert DeNiro and Meryl Streep, who made her acting debut.