Damien Bona dies at 56

Damien Bona, co-author of "Inside Oscar: The Unofficial Good reputation for the Oscars," died in NY on Jan. 29, two days after cardiac arrest. He was 56.Bona, who was simply a lawyer but was lengthy obsessive about the Oscars, composed the voluminous reference use Mason Wiley it had been released in 1986, and Bona labored alone around the follow-up, released in 2002, after Wiley's dying in 1994. He was interested with who won the Academy awards however in a brief history from the ceremony, side tales and controversies.Additionally to his books around the Oscars, Bona also authored "Opening Shots: The Unusual, Unpredicted, Potentially Career Threatening First Roles That Released the Careers of 70 CelebritiesInch (1994) and "Starring John Wayne as Genghis Kahn: Hollywood's All-Time Worst Casting Blunders" (1996).Bona offered like a consultant to Bill Condon once the latter co-created this year's edition from the Academy awards.Bona was raised in New Milford, Conn., and gained levels from Columbia U., where he was film critic around the school paper, and NYU Law School but practiced being an attorney for just 2 yrs in early eighties, after which it he moved from NY towards the La area, home from the Academy of Movies Arts & Sciences. He's made it by his longtime companion, Rob Pena his mother along with a sister. Contact Variety Staff at news@variety.com