Born to a Jewish family in New York, one of two sons born to Josephine Frances and Max Mirisch. His father emigrated from Krakow in 1891 at the age of 17 arriving in New York City where he worked as a tailor. His mother was the daughter of immigrants from Hungary and Poland. His father was previously married to Flora Glasshut with whom he had two sons; she died of cancer at the age of 40. Mirisch graduated from DeWitt Clinton High School and entered the movie business as a summer vacation usher in Jersey City's State Theater, soon moving up to higher positions at other theaters. In 1942, he received a BA degree from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and the following year graduated from Harvard's Graduate School of Business Administration. He produced his first film, Fall Guy for Monogram Pictures.
Career
At the age of 29, Mirisch became production head at Allied Artists Studio, initially only a division of Monogram, with some 30 films to oversee. During his tenure, he found time to personally produce Flat Top, Wichita, which received a Golden Globe from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association as Best Outdoor Drama of 1955, The First Texan, and An Annapolis Story. Among other films, he supervised the productions of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Friendly Persuasion, and the Billy Wilder-directed Love in the Afternoon. Mirisch heads that category of creative producers who have learned their craft thoroughly from the very inception of a project through all phases of its production process. Known in the industry as a perfectionist, he supervises every detail of his films from the earliest stages to the final release. The Mirisch Company was founded in 1957. It produced 68 films for United Artists, including three that won the Academy Award for Best Picture – The Apartment, West Side Story and In the Heat of the Night, which also won four other Oscars. Among the most noteworthy Mirisch projects that Walter personally produced are: Man of the West ; The Magnificent Seven ; Two for the Seesaw ; Toys in the Attic ; the film version of James A. Michener's monumental novel, Hawaii, which was nominated for seven Oscars, and its sequel, The Hawaiians ; Midway, the saga of America's greatest naval victory; the tender and moving Same Time, Next Year ; and Romantic Comedy. For NBC television network, Mirisch was executive producer of Wichita Town with Joel McCrea, Peter Loves Mary, Desperado; Return of Desperado; Desperado: Avalanche At Devil’s Ridge; Desperado: Legacy; Desperado: Sole Survivor; and in 1993, Troubleshooters: Trapped Beneath The Earth. Mirisch was executive producer of Lily in Winter for the USA Network in 1994, A Class for Life for ABC in 1995, as well as The Magnificent Seven, a weekly series for CBS in 1997. Ron Howard has said of Mirisch, "From Bomba, the Jungle Boy to Some Like It Hot and In the Heat of the Night... Walter Mirisch produced many of the films which dazzled and inspired me. When I later acted in one of his productions, The Spikes Gang, I learned that a prolific and brilliant producer could also be a terrific guy and a wonderful teacher."
He was married to Patricia Kahan ; they had three children, Anne Mirisch Sonnenberg, Andrew Mirisch and Lawrence Mirisch. His son, Lawrence, is the founder of the Mirisch Agency.
