ATLANTA — A tragic incident occurred on Friday evening when Steve Mensch, the president of Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta, lost his life in a plane crash while piloting a small aircraft along Florida’s Gulf Coast.
The studio announced on Saturday that Mensch, who was 62 years old, had passed away. In a heartfelt statement, Tyler Perry Studios expressed their sorrow, saying, “We are incredibly saddened by the passing of our dear friend Steve Mensch. Steve was a cherished member of our team for more than eight years and well-beloved in the community of Atlanta. It’s hard to imagine not seeing him smiling throughout the halls. We will miss him dearly. Our heart goes out to his family as we all send them our prayers.”
The aircraft crash took place in Homosassa, situated approximately 60 miles north of Tampa. Images from the accident site reveal that the plane had flipped upside down on a roadway. The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are currently investigating the circumstances surrounding the crash.
According to FAA records, Mensch’s single-engine Vans RV-12IS was registered to him at his home in the Atlanta suburb of Fayetteville. Mensch was a key figure in advocating for and preserving Georgia’s film tax credit, which exceeds $1 billion annually. This generous financial support has contributed significantly to making Georgia a leading hub for film and television production in the United States.
Mensch started his journey in the film industry with Feature Systems, a company that provides equipment for filmmaking. He later joined Turner Broadcasting, where he managed studio operations and eventually became the director of strategic production partnerships. In this role, he began to actively seek increased support from the state government for the film and television sectors.
Ric Reitz, an actor who collaborated with Mensch to establish the tax credits, shared with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that Mensch played a vital role in promoting the state prior to the 1996 Summer Olympics held in Atlanta. He also helped found the Georgia Production Partnership, a lobbying group for the entertainment industry. Reitz noted, “He was trying to formulate the vision for the marketplace before the Olympics and wanted a think tank of people in the community to make Georgia competitive. He was an important figure in our growth to become a strong film and TV market.”
After spending a year in China to help design and build a large studio and a brief period assisting in the launch of Third Rail Studios, Mensch was recruited by Tyler Perry in 2016 to help establish and manage his eponymous studio. This studio is located on 330 acres of a former Army base in southern Atlanta that Perry acquired in 2015.
Mensch’s passing coincided with the release of “The Six Triple Eight,” a war drama highlighting a predominantly Black, all-female battalion from World War II. This film was produced at the Atlanta studio. Mensch is survived by his wife, Danila, along with their three children.
