Michael Cimino was born on the 3rd February 1939 in New York City, USA, and was a director, producer as well as a screenwriter and an author, who is probably best known for his movies such as “Thunderbolt and Lightfoot” (1974), “The Deer Hunter” (1978) for which he was honored with Golden Globe and Academy Awards, as well as “Heaven’s Gate” (1980) and “The Sicilian” (1987). Cimino passed away in 2016.
Have you ever wondered how much wealth this veteran of the moviemaking industry accumulated for life? How rich would Michael Cimino be today? According to sources, it is estimated that the total of Michael Cimino’s net worth, as of mid-2017, would revolve around the sum of $10 million, acquired primarily through his directing career which was active between 1974 and 1996, but his screenwriting and writing skills also contributed heavily.
Michael Cimino Net Worth $10 million
Michael was one of several sons of a costume designer and music publisher, and belongs to the third generation of Italian-Americans. He attended Long Island’s Westbury High School from which he matriculated in 1956, and then enrolled at Michigan State University from which he graduated with honors in 1959, majoring in graphic arts. He continued his education at Yale University where he studied art history, architecture and painting, in 1961 obtaining his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree while in 1963 he earned his Master of Fine Arts degree, both in painting. In 1963, Cimino applied for US Army Reserve, and spent six months training in New Jersey and Texas.
Upon graduation from Yale, Cimino began his career as a television commercials director, collaborating with brands such as United Airlines, Kodak and Pepsi among several others. In 1971, he transferred to Los Angles, California, where he began his screenwriting career. By the end of 1978, he had already written a dozen scripts, including “Thunderbolt and Lightfoot” which he later directed into an eponymous movie, featuring Clint Eastwood in the leading role, and was a solid commercial success at the box office. All these involvements provided the basis for Michael Cimino’s net worth.
In 1978, Cimino wrote, produced and directed what later became the cult classic movie, the war drama “The Deer Hunter” which featured Robert De Niro, John Savage and Christopher Walken in the main roles. The movie earned great reviews from critics, and was incredibly well accepted by the audience, earning five Academy Awards including for Best Director. This venture marked the breakthrough in Michael Cimino’s directing career, significantly increasing his net worth by a large margin.
However, Cimino’s 1980 western adventure movie “Heaven’s Gate” was such a commercial disaster that it almost cast a shadow over all of his other works. In 1987, he directed an action crime drama based on a Mario Puzo’s novel – “The Sicilian” – which featured Christopher Lambert in the title role and was a huge commercial success at the box office. In 1990, Cimino produced and directed another crime drama, entitled “Desperate Hours”, featuring Anthony Hopkins and Mickey Rourke in the leading roles. This was followed by the 1996 drama movie “The Sunchaser” with Woody Harrelson and Jon Seda in the main roles. His last directing project occurred in 2007 when “To Each His Own Cinema” comedy movie hit the box office. It is certain that all these accomplishments helped Michael Cimino to dramatically boost his wealth in total.
Apart from all those already mentioned above, Michael Cimino published two books – “Big Jane” in 2001 and “Conversations en Mirror” which hit the bookshelves in 2003.
When it comes to his personal life, Michael Cimino kept it quite private, living “an isolated live”. There isn’t any relevant information about his affairs or romantic connections, but he never married. He passed away at the age of 77 of heart failure in his Beverly Hills home, on the 2nd July 2016.
