The President of Atlanta Tyler Perry Studios died Friday evening when the small plane he was piloting crashed on Florida’s Gulf Coast.
The studio confirmed Saturday the death of Steve Mensch, its 62-year-old president and CEO.
“We are incredibly saddened by the passing of our dear friend Steve Mensch,” the studio said in a statement. “Steve was a cherished member of our team for over eight years and beloved in the Atlanta community. It’s hard to imagine not seeing him smiling in the hallways. He will be greatly missed. Our hearts go out to his family and we all send them our prayers.
Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles via AP
The accident happened in Homosassa, about 60 miles north of Tampa. Photos from the scene show the plane coming to rest upside down on a road. The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating.
The single-engine Vans RV-12IS was registered to Mensch at his home in the Atlanta suburb of Fayetteville, according to FAA records.
Mensch helped defend and maintain Georgia Film Tax Credit more than a billion dollars per year. These generous grants have made Georgia one of the most active in film and television production in the United States.
Mensch got into the film business when he began working for Feature Systems, which provides equipment for the film industry. He was hired by Atlanta-based Turner Broadcasting to run its studio operations, later becoming director of strategic production partnerships. It was there that he began lobbying the state government for more aid for film and television production.
Ric Reitz, an actor who also helped create the tax credits, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that Mensch helped promote the state before the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta and helped launch of the Georgia Production Partnership, an entertainment industry lobbying group.
“He was trying to formulate a market vision before the Olympics and wanted a think tank of people from the community to make Georgia competitive,” Reitz said. “He has played an important role in our growth into a strong film and television market.”
After a year helping to plan and build a giant studio in China and a brief stint opening Third Rail Studios in suburban Atlanta. Perry hired Mensch to help create and manage his eponymous studio in 2016. The studio spans 330 acres of a former military base in south Atlanta that Perry acquired in 2015.
Mensch died the same day Perry released “The Six Triple Eight,” a war drama about a predominantly black, all-female World War II battalion. The film was shot at the Atlanta studio.
Mensch is survived by his wife, Danila, and three children.
