Ken Atchity, Producer of The Meg and Joe Somebody, Dies at 82
Ken Atchity, a film producer whose credits include The Meg and Joe Somebody, died on 19 October 2026. He was 82. His family announced his death on Facebook, saying he died after a brief illness.
His wife, Kayoko Mitsumatsu, shared the news with the Atchity family. The Hollywood Reporter reported that he died of kidney failure at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. His longtime business and producing partner, Chi-Li Wong, confirmed the death to the publication.
A producer is the person who gets a film off the page and onto a screen. That means finding the money, choosing the project, and pulling together the people who make it. Atchity did this across a wide range of films.
His credits include Joe Somebody (2001), starring Tim Allen, and Life or Something Like It (2002), starring Angelina Jolie. He also produced Gospel Hill (2008), which was directed by Giancarlo Esposito, and Hysteria (2011), starring Maggie Gyllenhaal.
His best-known work for many audiences is the Meg series. He produced The Meg (2018) and its sequel, Meg 2: The Trench (2023). Both films starred Jason Statham.
Producers rarely appear in the spotlight. Their names roll past at the end of a film, often after the audience has already started to leave. Atchity's name was one of those, and it now carries the weight of a career that ended at 82.
Tributes from colleagues and fans have followed the announcement. The family has asked people to remember him as a man who spent decades helping stories reach the screen.
