Robert F. Colesberry

After pursuing a degree in drama at New York University, Robert F. Colesberry hustled as a locations manager and first assistant director for an array of high-profile filmmakers that included Andy Warhol and Bernardo Bertolucci. His gig as on associate producer on the 1977 erotic drama "Little Girl... Big Tease" marked the start of a prolific career in feature films, producing such critical gems and commercial hits as the baseball crowd-pleaser "The Natural" and the director Martin Scorsese's cult comedies "After Hours" and "The King of Comedy." Colesberry's work on the harrowing racial drama "Mississippi Burning" garnered him a nomination for Best Picture at the 1989 Academy Awards. Throughout the '90s, the producer collaborated with such superstars as Brad Pitt and Dustin Hoffman on projects such as "Billy Bathgate," "Being Human," and "The Devil's Own." Colesberry took a momentous leap into television with the 2000 urban-drama miniseries "The Corner," kick-starting a hugely successful partnership with the writer-producers David Mills and David Simon. In the years following, the team launched the crackerjack sociopolitical series "The Wire" to considerable critical acclaim. Shortly after reconnecting with his passions for acting and directing (he had a recurring cameo on "The Wire" and served as one of the show's second assistant directors), Colesberry died from cardiac-surgery-related complications. A scholarship for students attending N.Y.U. was instituted in his name.