Emmy Winner Dies After Mr. Rogers Movie Set Fall

PITTSBURGH, PA - An Emmy-award winning sound man died Thursday while working on the new Mr. Rogers movie starring Tom Hanks being filmed in Pittsburgh. James Emswiller, 61, of Lincoln Place, possibly suffered a heart attack and fell two stories from a home in Mt. Lebanon.

Emswiller was taking a smoke break on the balcony of a house in the 700 block of Shady Drive when the incident occurred. He was taken to an area hospital, where he later was pronounced dead.

Emswiller was a member of the sound crew for “You Are My Friend,” the Mr. Rogers biopic slated for release in October 2019. The film tells the story of the friendship that develops between Rogers, played by Hanks, and a magazine journalist assigned to write a profile of him.

Emswiller won an Emmy in 2015 for outstanding sound mixing for a limited series or movie for “Bessie,” the story of legendary blues performer Bessie Smith, according to IMBD.com. His credits also include the movies, “The Avengers,” “Jack Reacher,” “Sudden Death,” and “Abduction.”

Photo via Sony Pictures.

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