June 5, 2002	Wednesday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 23,1423

LOS ANGELES, June 4: Lew Wasserman, the movie mogul who ruled Hollywood with an iron fist for more than half a century and raised a fortune for the Democratic Party, has died at age 89.

Wasserman died at his home in Beverly Hills of complications from a stroke. As chairman of MCA Inc, which owned Universal Pictures, Wasserman was often described as the most powerful man in Hollywood.

During a 59-year career, he worked with everyone from James Stewart, Gregory Peck and Alfred Hitchcock to Steven Spielberg and Kevin Costner.—Reuters