Stars pay tribute to Silence of the Lambs director

NEW YORK - Jonathan Demme, the Oscar-winning director of The Silence of the Lambs whose four-decade career spanned a staggering array of work from romantic comedy and rock music to hard-hitting documentaries, died on Wednesday. He was 73.

Demme passed away in New York surrounded by his family after a battle with cancer, his publicist announced. He will be laid to rest in a private funeral.

He remains best known for the smash-hit 1991 horror-thriller starring Anthony Hopkins as serial killer Hannibal Lecter and Jodie Foster as FBI agent Clarice Starling. The movie was box office gold and a dazzling critical success.