julie kirkham photo


Dear colleagues:

It is with a heavy heart that I write to share with you that there has been a death in the Dodge College family; Julie Kirkham passed away last Wednesday morning. Her partner, Elliott Lewitt, wrote “
We’re devastated by the loss of our smart, passionate, fierce, kind-hearted red head.”


With over 30 years experience in the industry, among Julie’s many accomplishments was serving as a Production Executive at Orion Pictures where she was responsible for the development and production of more than a dozen feature films, including: AT CLOSE RANGE, DESPERATELY SEEKING SUSAN, BREATHLESS, THE FALCON AND THE SNOWMAN, UNDER FIRE, ROBOCOP, and THE TERMINATOR. She had been with us as an adjunct professor since 2009, teaching various screenwriting classes at Dodge College.

Julie was devoted to her students, and the following comment by one of the students she mentored says more about the importance of effective student mentoring by our faculty than anything I can say:

“
She was such a calming yet impactful influence on me and instilled in me a confidence in my instincts as a writer that won’t ever go away. My relationship with her defined my time at Chapman. She was also simply a great friend and just an awesome person to be with, especially when I got a couple glasses of wine in her! I never thought for one minute when she complained to me about her back that it would end up like this. Her talent lives on though. The day she passed, her final producing project, by her protégé Jordan Roberts, got the final greenlight, and he’s off to film it.
”

There will be a memorial service celebrating her life on Saturday, July 18 at 5 p.m. at the Malibu Racquet Club (23847 Stuart Ranch Road, Malibu, CA 90265). Should you be interested in attending, RSVP your attendance to Isabelle Claire Kirkham-Lewitt (
iklewitt@gmail.com
).

Best,

Bob