RIP: Miriam Weinstein dies at 90

Miriam Weinstein, the mother of the filmmakers Harvey and Bob Weinstein and an inspiration for the name of their first film company, Miramax, died on Wednesday at her home in Westport, Conn. She was 90.

Her death was confirmed by a spokesman for the Weinstein Company.

“I remember when they called from Buffalo and told me they had named the company Miramax — meaning Miriam and Max,’’ referring to her husband, Ms. Weinstein told The New York Times in 1997. “It was the ultimate compliment for a mother and dad. Sometimes I slip into a film, all by myself, here in the city, like ‘Shall We Dance?’, and look at the logo as the movie starts, and seeing our names joined like that ——” She never quite finished the sentence.

Ms. Weinstein was a part of her sons’ business from the beginning. After Miramax was founded in 1979, originally just to distribute independent films, she was the receptionist at the company’s first headquarters, at Madison Avenue and 48th Street, and often brought pastries to the office.

Ms. Weinstein had no plans to stop contributing (advice or pastries), even after Miramax became a division of the Walt Disney Company in a $60 million sale, and even after Miramax films had won Oscars in best picture for “The English Patient,” “Shakespeare in Love” and “Chicago.”

Vanity Fair reported in 2011 that when it looked as if the Weinsteins might have a chance to buy Miramax back, she volunteered to help, perhaps by getting in touch with Disney’s chairman.

“Harvey, who should I call?” the magazine quoted her as saying. “Should I call Bob Iger? If you want to close this, Harvey, I can do it for you.” (Miramax eventually went to a new owner.)

Miriam Postel was born on Feb. 17, 1926, in Brooklyn, the younger of two daughters of Joseph and Sarah Postel, who ran an egg and dairy products store and who were born in Poland. Miriam married Max Weinstein, a diamond cutter, and the couple lived in Flushing, Queens, where their children were born. She sometimes worked as a secretary.

In addition to her sons, Ms. Weinstein is survived by nine grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. Max Weinstein died in 1976.

In 2013, when a joint coproduction and codistribution venture was announced between Miramax’s new owners and the Weinstein Company, she issued a statement that began: “Over the years, Bob and Harvey have never let me talk, although I would have done better than them. After all, I am a Jewish mother.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/04/movies/miriam-weinstein-died-miramax.html?_r=0