Ken Atchity, Producer on 'The Meg' and Acclaimed NYC Big Book Award Author, Dies at 82

Ken Atchity, a versatile author, professor, literary manager, and film producer behind hit movies such as The Meg and Joe Somebody, has passed away. He was 82.

Atchity was a NYC Big Book Awardee in 2021, as a co-author of “Japanese In-Law: Words and Phrases for Day-to-Day Living” by Kenneth Atchity and Keisaku Mitsumatsu.

Atchity died last Monday of kidney failure at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, his longtime business and producing partner Chi-Li Wong confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter.

Born Kenneth John Atchity on January 16, 1944, in Eunice, Louisiana, and raised in Kansas City, Missouri, Atchity’s story-driven career spanned higher education, publishing, and Hollywood. After graduating from Rockhurst High School on an Ignatian Scholarship, he earned his degree in Classics and English at Georgetown University, where he served as editor-in-chief of The Hoya. He went on to pursue a master's degree at Yale—studying under A. Bartlett Giamatti and Erich Segal—and taught at Occidental College in Los Angeles for over a decade before transitioning into the entertainment industry in the 1980s.

As a film producer, Atchity brought numerous high-profile projects to the screen, including the hit action thriller The Meg (2018) and its 2023 sequel, Meg 2: The Trench, both starring Jason Statham. His filmography also includes Joe Somebody (2001) starring Tim Allen, Life or Something Like It (2002) starring Angelina Jolie, Gospel Hill (2008) directed by Giancarlo Esposito, and Hysteria (2011) starring Maggie Gyllenhaal. On television, he produced the 1989 telefilm The Amityville Horror: The Evil Escapes, the 2010 documentary The Kennedy Detail, and 16 romantic telefilms under the Shades of Love banner.

Beyond Hollywood, Atchity was a prolific literary figure. He authored more than 20 books and headed Story Merchant Books, who also won numerous NYC Big Book Awards, representing writers and connecting their work with publishers, film, and television outlets. 

He is survived by his wife, Kayoko, whom he married in 2003; his children, Vincent and Rosemary; five grandchildren, Margaret, Edward, Oliver, Eliot, and Louis; and his sisters, Mary and Laurie.

Donations in his memory may be made to Yoga Gives Back, an organization dedicated to empowering women and children in India.