Richard Kurt Schmiechen was born in St. Louis, and was brought up in Pekin, Ill. He was a graduate of Grinnell College in Iowa and attended film school at Columbia College in Chicago. Before producing and directing his own documentaries, he was a film editor for the director James Ivory on "Roseland" and he worked with the documentarians David and Albert Maysles.

He produced "The Times of Harvey Milk," a portrait of the San Francisco Supervisor who was shot and killed in 1978 by a disgruntled predecessor. Richard won an Academy Award in 1984 for the documentary "The Times of Harvey Milk". The film, which was directed by Robert Epstein, also won two Emmys and a Peabody Award and was shown as part of the New York Film Festival in 1987.

Among Mr. Schmiechen's other film and television credits are "Nick Mazzuco: Biography of an Atomic Vet," about a soldier who witnessed 23 atomic-bomb tests during the 1950's; "The Portrait," based on Tina Howe's play "Painting Churches"; "Arboreal Aviators," a documentary on the tropical rain forest, and "The Jungle Flying Machine."

Richard's most recent film, made with Mr. Haugland, is "Changing Our Minds: The Story of Dr. Evelyn Hooker." The film, about the psychologist who disproved the theory that homosexuality is a mental disorder, was nominated for an Oscar this year as best documentary feature.

He died at Midway Hospital of AIDS related complications in Los Angeles, said David Haugland, his companion and business partner. He was 45.