Julie E. Kirkham ’76

Julie died at home June 10, 2015, in Santa Monica, Calif., following a brief battle with multiple myeloma.

Julie came to Princeton from Bronxville (N.Y.) High School, where she was a nationally ranked tennis player. She continued her strong game at Princeton, capturing numerous varsity singles and doubles titles.

An English major at Princeton, Julie pursued a love of storytelling that was the foundation of her later success in the film industry. She was a member of Cap and Gown Club.

Julie moved to Los Angeles to become a script reader/development executive for Ray Stark Productions/Columbia Pictures. She rose through the industry to vice president of production at Orion Pictures, working on the Melanie Griffith science-fiction film Cherry 2000, and then as senior vice president at Quentin Tarantino and Lawrence Bender’s production company, A Band Apart. She was a producer on Ridley Scott’s thriller Black Rain; Jodie Foster’s Anna and the King; Dirty Dancing 2: Havana Nights; 3,2,1… Frankie Go Boom; Around the Bend; and many more movies. Julie also taught screenwriting at both Chapman University and the University of North Carolina.

The class extends deepest sympathy to Julie’s husband, Elliott Lewitt; and their children, Isabelle and Theo.