Hollywood has lost a director who helmed box-office hits and helped launch the careers of numerous stars.

U.S. filmmaker Joel Schumacher died this morning (June 22) in New York City after a yearlong battle with cancer. He was 80 years old.

With a background in fashion, the openly gay Schumacher began working in screen industries as a costume designer and parlayed his talents into heading up blockbusters.

He rose to fame as director of 1985’s St. Elmo’s Fire, which propelled its Brat Pack cast—Rob Lowe, Demi Moore, Emilio Estevez, and Ally Sheedy—into the limelight.

He continued on with many mainstream successes, including 1987’s The Lost Boys, 1990’s Flatliners, 1994’s The Client, and 1996’s A Time to Kill. (A TV pilot for The Lost Boys was filmed in Vancouver in March 2019.)

Replacing director Tim Burton, Schumacher took over the Batman franchise with 1995’s Batman Forever, starring Val Kilmer, Jim Carrey, Tommy Lee Jones, and Nicole Kidman, and followed it up with 1997’s Batman and Robin, starring George Clooney, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Uma Thurman, Alicia Silverstone, and Chris O’Donnell.

He also helped to launch the careers of such Hollywood stars as Kiefer Sutherland, Julia Roberts, Colin Farrell, and Matthew McConaughey.