Michael White, the Scottish producer behind The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Monty Python and the Holy Grail, has died at the age of 80.
Mr White, who was born in Glasgow, died of heart failure in California.
His death was confirmed by his former girlfriend, film director Lyndall Hobbs.
The legendary producer began his career in London's West End producing plays including Oh Calcutta!, Annie and The Rocky Horror Picture Show before moving into films and television.
He is famous for his work on The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Jabberwocky, My Dinner with Andre, The Hound of the Baskervilles and The Comic Strip Presents.
He won a plethora of awards during his career including two Tony Awards and a Laurence Olivier Award.
He was also the subject of a 2013 documentary, The Last Impresario, which examined the producer's life and legacy. It featured interviews with many of Mr White's close friends including John Cleese, Naomi Watts, Barry Humphries, Nigel Planer and Anna Wintour.
Ms Hobbs told the BBC: "It would seem he died of heart failure having been told about eight weeks ago that he needed open heart surgery but he was too weak for surgery.
"Michael had an appetite for life that was unmatched in my opinion. A unique man who put on hundreds of shows and truly was a theatrical pioneer."
Fans and celebrities including Monty Python star paid tribute to the 'one of a kind' star on Twitter.
R.I.P. Michael White, Producer of Holy Grail. Rocky Horror, Pass The Butler etc. Chalky was one of a kind and will be missed. @JohnCleese
— Eric Idle (@EricIdle) March 9, 2016
LOVE YOU SO MUCH.. a true inspiration & generous soul. changed my life forever. RIP dear dear Michael White pic.twitter.com/1N2xn9CKx0
— Gracie Otto (@gracieotto) March 8, 2016
Farewell to two legends of music/als: George Martin, Beatles producer; & Michael White, theatre producer (original ROCKY HORROR SHOW)
— Mark Shenton (@ShentonStage) March 9, 2016
80 and 90 may seem like a 'good age'... but families never get used to it. Bless George Martin and Michael White's families with strength.
— Les Floyd (@Lesism) March 9, 2016
Actor Michael Ball tweeted: "Sir George Martin and Michael White gone. Both 'Producers' in different fields. Both excelled and influenced us all. RIP gentlemen."
Actress Lisa Maxwell tweeted: "RIP Michael White.producer of the original London production of Musical Annie.so proud to have been a part of your show back then."
Culture minister Ed Vaizey tweeted: "So sad - great producer Michael White has died. A remarkable man."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here