Tyler Perry Studios president dies when plane he was piloting crashes in Florida
atlanta president tyler perry studio He died Friday night when the small plane he was piloting crashed off Florida’s Gulf Coast.
President and general manager Steve Mensch, 62, has died, the studio confirmed Saturday.
“We are deeply saddened by the passing of our dear friend Steve Mensch,” the studio said in a statement. “For more than eight years, Steve was a cherished member of our team. He is so loved throughout the halls and our thoughts and prayers are with them.”
Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (AP)
The accident occurred in Homosassa, about 60 miles north of Tampa. Photos from the scene showed the plane hanging upside down on the road. The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating.
The single-engine Vans RV-12IS was registered to Mensch’s home address in the Atlanta suburb of Fayetteville, according to FAA records.
In a post on Instagram on Saturday night, Perry wrote: “I spent the whole day trying to understand this tragedy – what happened to that plane. Steve loved flying and he loved that plane; he was very proud of it. Steve Mensch really was A kind soul and a great leader in the studio, we all adored him and are saddened by his passing and I am praying for his family as we all try to understand this sadness.”
Mensch helps advocate and maintain Georgia Film Tax Credit More than $1 billion per year. These generous subsidies have made Georgia one of the most dynamic places for film and television production in the United States.
Mensch got into the film industry when he started working at Feature Systems, which supplied equipment to the film industry. He was hired by Turner Broadcasting in Atlanta to run its studio operations and later became director of strategic production partnerships. It was there that he began lobbying the state government for more aid for film and television productions.
Actor Ric Reitz, who also helped create the tax credit, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that Mensch helped sell the state ahead of the administration. 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympics and helped found the entertainment industry lobbying group Georgia Production Partnership.
“He was trying to develop a vision for the market before the Olympics and wanted to have a think tank within the community to make Georgia more competitive,” Reitz said. “He was a big part of our growth into a strong film and television market.”
After a year of helping plan and build a large studio in China, and briefly helping open Third Rail Studios in suburban Atlanta. In 2016, Perry hired Mensch to help create and run his eponymous studio. The studio occupies 330 acres of land south of Atlanta on a former Army base that Perry acquired in 2015.
Mensch’s death came on the same day that Perry released “638,” a war film about a predominantly black, all-female battalion in World War II. The film was shot at an Atlanta studio.
Menche is survived by his wife Daniela and three children.
