Robert Mulligan, who received an Oscar nomination for directing To Kill a Mockingbird, has died of heart disease at his Connecticut home at the age of 83.

Known for his diffident nature and sensitivity toward players, Mulligan directed five different actors in Oscar-nominated performances: Gregory Peck and Mary Badham in Mockingbird; Natalie Wood (Love with the Proper Stranger); Ruth Gordon (Inside Daisy Clover); and Ellen Burstyn (Same Time, Next Year).

Peck won the Oscar for his lead role as attorney Atticus Finch in Mockingbird.

Mulligan was born in 1925 in New York and worked for six months at the New York Times before entering Fordham University, where he majored in journalism and literature.

He became one of the first students to enroll in the school's radio department.

After college, he started his show business career as a messenger boy at CBS.

He soon moved up to production assistant and then won an opportunity to direct on the Suspense series.

He directed stage plays as well, including Comes a Day on Broadway.

-Reuters