Jennings Lang (May 28, 1915, New York City – May 29, 1996, Palm Desert, California) was an American film producer, screenwriter, and actor.

Early life and career

Lang was born to a Jewish family in New York City. Originally a lawyer, practicing in New York City, Lang came to Hollywood in 1938. The following spring, he set up an office as a talent agent, together with his future wife, Flora Pam. In 1940 Lang joined the Jaffe agency and within a few years became the company's president, and came to be known as one of Hollywood's leading agents. In 1950 he joined the MCA talent agency and two years later became vice president of MCA TV Limited; in this capacity, he worked with MCA's subsidiary Revue Productions involved in developing, creating, and selling new series in the 1950s and '60s, such as '' Wagon Train'', '' The Bob Cummings Show'', and ''

McHale's Navy ''McHale's Navy'' is an American sitcom starring Ernest Borgnine that aired 138 half-hour episodes over four seasons, from October 11, 1962, to April 12, 1966, on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC television network. The series was filmed i ...

''. He produced and executive-produced movies from 1969 to 1986; in the mid-1970s, Lang produced a series of major epics, including '' Airport 1975'' and ''

Earthquake An earthquakealso called a quake, tremor, or tembloris the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they ...

''; the latter picture used Sensurround to augment the onscreen action with sound waves that sent tremors throughout the theater.

Personal life

In 1940, Lang married fellow publicist Flora Pam Friedheim, with whom he fathered two sons, including jazz pianist/studio musician Mike Lang. In December 1951, Lang was shot in the left inner thigh by film producer Walter Wanger, who believed Lang was having an affair with his wife, actress Joan Bennett.* Lang survived, and Wanger, pleading insanity, served four months in prison. Although Mrs. Lang publicly supported her husband, one reporter who had covered the original scandal, Will Fowler, recalled:

But the one person who was only fleetingly mentioned in the torrid front page affair, the one who publicly stated that she refused to believe her husband had been unfaithful, Mrs. Pam Lang, was driven into deep depression and a few months after the story quieted down, she died of a heart attack.Fowler, Will (1991). ''Reporters: Memoir of a Young Newspaperman''. Malibu, CA: Roundtable Publishing. pp.&nbs
289–307
.

In 1956 Lang married actress-singer Monica Lewis and fathered one more son. The couple remained married until Lang's death in 1996.

Last years and death

A stroke in 1983 forced Lang's retirement. He died of pneumonia in 1996 in Palm Desert, California. Lang was survived by his wife Monica Lewis and three sons, two by his previous marriage.

Filmography

Producer

* '' Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here'' (1969) * ''Act of the Heart'' (1970) * '' The Beguiled'' (1971) * ''

They Might Be Giants They Might Be Giants, often abbreviated as TMBG, is an American alternative rock and Children's music, children's band formed in 1982 by John Flansburgh and John Linnell. During TMBG's early years, Flansburgh and Linnell frequently performed as ...

'' (1971) * '' Play Misty for Me'' (1971) * ''

Slaughterhouse-Five ''Slaughterhouse-Five, or, The Children's Crusade: A Duty-Dance with Death'' is a 1969 semi-autobiographic science fiction-infused anti-war novel by Kurt Vonnegut. It follows the life experiences of Billy Pilgrim, from his early years, to his ...

'' (1972) * '' The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid'' (1972) * '' Pete 'n' Tillie'' (1972) * ''

High Plains Drifter ''High Plains Drifter'' is a 1973 American Western film directed by Clint Eastwood, written by Ernest Tidyman, and produced by Robert Daley for The Malpaso Company and Universal Pictures. The film stars Eastwood as a mysterious stranger who ...

'' (1973) * '' Charley Varrick'' (1973) * '' Breezy'' (1973) * '' Airport 1975'' (1974) * ''

'' (1974) * '' The Front Page'' (1974) * ''

Swashbuckler A swashbuckler is a genre of European adventure literature that focuses on a heroic protagonist stock character who is skilled in swordsmanship, acrobatics, and guile, and possesses chivalrous ideals. A "swashbuckler" protagonist is heroic, ...

'' (1976) * ''

Airport '77 ''Airport '77'' is a 1977 American air disaster film, the third installment of the ''Airport'' film series. The film stars an ensemble cast of veteran actors including Jack Lemmon, James Stewart, Joseph Cotten, Olivia de Havilland, and Br ...

'' (1977) * '' Rollercoaster'' (1977) * '' House Calls'' (1978) * ''Nunzio'' (1978) * '' The Concorde ... Airport '79'' (1979) * '' House Calls'' (1979, TV series) * '' The Nude Bomb'' (1980) * '' Little Miss Marker'' (1980) * '' Masada'' (1981, TV miniseries) * '' The Sting II'' (1983) * '' Stick'' (1985)

Presenter

* '' Play Misty for Me'' (1971) * '' The Eiger Sanction'' (1975)

Screenwriter

* '' The Concorde ... Airport '79'' (1979)

Actor

* ''

Real Life Real life is a phrase used originally in literature to distinguish between the real world and fictional, virtual or idealized worlds, and in acting to distinguish between actors and the Character (arts), characters they portray. It has become a ...

'' (1979)

References

External links

*
Jennings Lang
at Yahoo! Movies {{DEFAULTSORT:Lang, Jennings 1915 births 1996 deaths Film producers from California 20th-century American lawyers Jewish American screenwriters Burials at Desert Memorial Park American shooting survivors Deaths from pneumonia in California Businesspeople from New York City 20th-century American businesspeople Screenwriters from New York (state) Film producers from New York (state) Screenwriters from California 20th-century American screenwriters 20th-century American Jews