Judy Wyler Sheldon, 84, and her husband Wylie Sheldon, 86, were found dead Monday inside a running 2022 Jeep Compass stopped on northbound I-5 near Redding, a case the California Highway Patrol described as “medically related.” Both were en route to the Oregon
The San Francisco film community was still processing the shock when a California Highway Patrol officer found Judy Wyler Sheldon and her husband, Wylie Sheldon, unresponsive inside a running vehicle near Redding.
Judy Wyler Sheldon, 84, and Wylie Sheldon, 86, were discovered shortly after 5:46 p.m. Monday in a 2022 Jeep Compass stopped on the right shoulder of northbound Interstate 5, north of Fawndale Road, the CHP said. The CHP said she was the driver and he was the passenger. When the officer stopped to check on the vehicle, the car was still running. A second officer and medical personnel arrived and rendered aid, but both were pronounced dead at the scene.
The CHP described the incident as apparently “medically related” and said the circumstances and cause of death remain under investigation.
The location and timing added another layer of urgency for investigators and for those trying to make sense of what happened. Redding was under a National Weather Service extreme heat warning that day. and temperatures in the area reached about 109 degrees. according to weather data. The CHP has not said whether heat was a factor.
The couple had been traveling from the Bay Area and were en route to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland. Investigators were retracing the couple’s route from the Bay Area and checking where they may have stopped along the way.
In San Francisco. the news landed with a particular weight because Wyler Sheldon wasn’t only known as the daughter of acclaimed filmmaker William Wyler—she was a fixture in the city’s arts world for decades. She served as a longtime leader of the San Francisco Silent Film Festival. where she and Wylie Sheldon were remembered as generous hosts and constant supporters.
Anita Monga, artistic director of the San Francisco Silent Film Festival, said in an email, “We are reeling from this news. Judy and Wylie were very dear to us, supportive and a positive presence at all our events.”
In a statement, the festival said her “generous support and positive spirit” had been a “buoying presence” at festival events for more than two decades.
Stacey Wisnia. the festival’s executive director. said Wyler Sheldon attended “almost every program” she could remember since Wisnia joined the organization more than 20 years ago. Wisnia described Wyler Sheldon as a familiar presence in the theater lobby—someone who could be found engaged in lively conversations with festival musicians. special guests and audience members.
“Completely unassuming. she could always be found in the theater lobby engaged in lively conversations with festival musicians. special guests and audience members. ” Wisnia said. Wisnia said she would miss Wyler Sheldon’s “warmth. curiosity. and charming stories about her travel adventures and her father. the great director William Wyler.” Wisnia called her “a San Francisco treasure.”.
After stepping down as president of the festival’s board, Monga said, Wyler Sheldon became the organization’s longtime chair. Monga recalled that she and Wyler Sheldon had joked about her role.
“I used to joke with her that she was our Frank Sinatra — Chairman of the Board,” Monga said.
Monga also said the couple hosted the festival’s pre-event welcome party for many years at their home in San Francisco’s Pacific Heights, describing Wyler Sheldon as encouraging visiting archivists and musicians to pose for pictures with her father’s Oscars.
“Judy would allow, actually encourage, our visiting film archivists and musicians to pose for pictures with her father William Wyler’s Oscars,” Monga said. “The perfect hosts.” Monga added, “I’m sorry to not be more articulate; this loss is so devastating.”
Wyler Sheldon was born Judith Wyler in Los Angeles and was widely known in film and San Francisco arts circles as Judy Wyler Sheldon. She was the daughter of William Wyler and actress Margaret Tallichet. In the 1950s. she had several screen credits. including appearances in “The Errol Flynn Theatre. ” “The Buccaneers” and “BBC Sunday-Night Theatre. ” before becoming a longtime advocate for silent film preservation.
In a 2007 interview, she said she became involved with the San Francisco Silent Film Festival after attending a retrospective of her father’s early silent films in Pordenone, Italy. San Francisco Performances also listed her as a co-chair of its 43rd season gala.
At the 2024 San Francisco Silent Film Festival, she introduced her father’s 1929 silent Western, “Hell’s Heroes.”
William Wyler, whose films included “Roman Holiday,” “Ben-Hur,” “The Best Years of Our Lives,” “Mrs. Miniver” and “Wuthering Heights,” won three Academy Awards for directing.
Outside the silent-film world, her impact was still felt. Eddie Muller, founder of Noir City and a Turner Classic Movies host, said the couple were “two of the kindest, sweetest, most generous people I knew.”
Muller said Wyler Sheldon’s “warm and gregarious support of the film community represented the best of San Francisco’s embrace of the arts.” He said she was “so vital to the success of the Silent Film Festival.”
Muller said he especially remembered Wyler Sheldon’s participation in Noir City when the festival screened “Stranger on the Third Floor. ” the 1940 film starring Margaret Tallichet. that is often cited as an early landmark of film noir. Muller said Wyler Sheldon seemed to relish the chance to honor her mother.
“For once, she got to honor her mom, instead of her more famous father,” Muller said. “I just can’t believe she’s gone.”
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