“Ronnie Yeskel, the Emmy-nominated casting director who worked on the Quentin Tarantino films Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction and shows including L.A. Law and Curb Your Enthusiasm, has died. She was 76. Yeskel died Jan. 4 at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills after a long battle with cancer.”, — write: www.hollywoodreporter.com
Yeskel died Jan. 4 at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills after a long battle with cancer. The news was announced by casting director and AMPAS governor Richard Hicks, her former business partner.
Yeskel cast Kieran Culkin in his first lead role in Igby Goes Down (2002), and her film résumé also included Renny Harlin’s The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996), Booty Call (1997), Bean (1997), Permanent Midnight (1998), Forest Whitaker’s Hope Floats (1998), Ken Loach‘s Bread and Roses (2000), Dude, Where’s My Car? (2000), Waking the Dead (2000) and The Sessions (2012).
She cast seasons five, six and seven of NBC’s L.A. Law (1990-93) and the first three seasons (2000-02) of HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm, among many other shows. She received her Emmy nom (shared with Hicks and Marla Garlin) in 2003 for the Larry Davis starrer.
“Ronnie touched the lives and careers of so many of us with her passion and her talent,” actor Matt O’Toole said in a statement. “She always fought for the actor with great respect and kindness. She was so joyful.”
Born and raised in New Jersey, Yeskel graduated from the University of Maryland, then worked as an off-Broadway stage manager before segueing to casting for theater in New York and Washington.
In the late 1990s, she served on the board of the Casting Society of America. She earned 10 CSA Artios Award nominations, winning for Pulp Fiction (which she shared with Gary Zuckerbrod), Curb Your Enthusiasm (with Hicks) and The Sessions.
Yeskel was described as “a proud hippie,” and among her most prized possessions was her ticket to 1969’s Woodstock Music and Art Fair.
Survivors include her brother, David; daughter Emily and son-in-law David; and grandchildren Bentley and Luna. A celebration of life will be held in the spring, with details to be announced soon.