Anthony Minghella Dies at Age 54

Anthony Minghella passed away this morning at the age of 54, according to published reports. He reportedly suffered a brain hemorrhage at 5 a.m. at Charing Cross Hospital in London, where he had undergone a routine operation on his neck.

Minghella most recently filmed the two-hour pilot for The No 1. Ladies Detective Agency, a show based on a series of books by Alexander McCall Smith. Minghella won the Oscar for his direction of The English Patient. His other films include Cold Mountain and Breaking and Entering. He directed the acclaimed production of Madama Butterfly presented last season at the Metropolitan Opera, and was also a noted playwright, with works including Whale Music, Two Planks And A Passion, A Little Like Drowning, Made In Bangkok, and Cigarettes and Chocolate.