Cis Corman, Barbra Streisand Collaborator and Veteran Casting Director, Dies at 93

By Ellise Shafer

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Cis Corman, distinguished casting director and president of Barbra Streisand’s production companies, died in New York on Monday. She was 93.

Born in Brookline, Mass., Corman began her career as a casting director in 1974, selecting roles for films such as Martin Scorsese’s “Raging Bull,” Sergio Leone’s “Once Upon a Time in America,” Michael Cimino’s “The Deer Hunter” and Streisand’s “Yentl.”

She later became the president of Streisand’s Barwood Films and Barwood Television production companies, executive producing on countless projects including “Nuts,” “The Price of Tides,” “Serving in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story,” “The Mirror Has Two Faces,” “Rescuers: Stories of Courage” and more.

Streisand considered Corman not only her best friend, but a surrogate mother, as Corman was 32 and Streisand only 16 when the two first met in an acting class.

“I treasured our lifelong friendship, her intelligence, her taste and her integrity. I loved Cis dearly and will miss her forever,” Streisand told Variety in a statement.

Many of Corman’s productions earned top film nods, and they went on to win several Emmys, Oscars and Golden Globes. Most prominently, “Serving in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story” received three Emmys in 1995 for its stunning exposé on gender discrimination in the military. Streisand’s Barwood Television also earned several Peabody Awards under Corman’s leadership.

“We shared the conviction that a film has to serve some key social purpose,” Streisand said of Corman. “The issues addressed in our television projects included the significant and disregarded history of women in film, the importance of gun control legislation, gay adoption and one about non-Jewish rescuers who saved Jews during the Holocaust.”

Streisand also posted a remembrance of her longtime friend on Twitter.

Corman is survived by her sons, Jeffrey Corman and Richard Corman; and four grandchildren, William Corman, Kimberly, Lily and Olivia Lamboy.