Oscar-winning 'Cuckoo's Nest' director Milos Forman dies at 86

Oscar-winning Czech-born film director Milos Forman, known for "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" and "Amadeus," has died aged 86, Czech media said on Saturday.

The CTK news agency quoted his wife Martina as saying Forman, who lived in the United States, died suddenly on Friday after a short illness.

"He passed away quietly, surrounded by his family and his closest people," she said.

Born in the town of Caslav east of Prague on February 18, 1932, Forman lost both parents in Nazi concentration camps.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest /Amazon Photo

In the 1960s, he became famous with films like "Black Peter," "Loves of a Blonde" and "The Firemen's Ball." In 1968, Forman moved to the United States.

His career overseas started with "Taking Off" in 1971, followed by "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" four years later, which brought Forman his first Oscar for best director. He returned to Prague in 1983 to film "Amadeus," which earned him a second Oscar and which won eight out of 11 nominations.

Forman's other films include "Hair" (1979), "Ragtime" (1981), "Valmont" (1989) and "The People vs. Larry Flynt" (1996), which handed him another best director Oscar nomination, as well as "Man on the Moon" (1999) and "Goya's Ghosts" (2006).

(CGTN)