The loss of Tom Sherak shook Hollywood and Los Angeles on Tuesday, with many well-known celebrities who worked with him remembering the former president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences. Mayor Eric Garcetti, who picked Sherak as the city’s film czar, also remembered him.

Sherak died on Tuesday at the age of 68, following a battle with prostate cancer. He left the Academy in 2012, but stayed active in Hollywood, In September 2013, he was named the head of LA’s film office and pushed for local production in the city.

“Everybody feels a strong sense of loss," Garcetti told The Los Angeles Times. “He was a public servant long before he became a film czar.”

Sherak was open about receiving chemotherapy treatments, but continued being a fighter, which is how Garcetti remembers him. “He was a survivor and fighter and I figured he was going to be able to fight it...He was the right person for the job,” the mayor said.

Garcetti also told Variety that even though Sherak was in pain, he still had the passion for the film industry during their last meeting on Friday over the phone. “He was able to continue to move an agenda forward, and put the people and policies in place that I know that we will all benefit from it,” Garcetti noted.

The Academy also issued a statement, recognizing his five decades in the film industry. He oversaw production and distribution for Revolution Studios, 20th Century Fox, Paramount Pictures and others. He also founded the MS Hope Foundation to support the Multiple Sclerosis community.

“In the more than 30 years I’ve known Tom, his passionate support of and excitement about the motion picture business, the Academy, his family and friends never wavered. He was truly larger than life, and he will be missed,” current Academy president Cheryl Boone-Isaacs wrote.

Several other celebrities sent out tweets to pay tribute to Sherak.

image: ABC