Robert Altman, a savvy corruptor of studio policy and preference who made a career out of bucking both traditional story conventions and Hollywood management style, died Monday night at a Los Angeles Hospital at the age of 81, it was reported today. A five-time Best Director Academy Award nominee, most recently for
2001’s Gosford Park, Altman was awarded a lifetime achievement Oscar in 2006.

An immediate cause of death was not reported, but when he received his honorary Oscar earlier this year, Altman revealed that he had a heart transplant a decade earlier, and insurance bonding companies were known over the past couple years to require a stand-by “shadow” director on his projects. A true original, he will certainly be missed.