Edward S. Feldman (September 5, 1929 – October 2, 2020) was an American film and television producer.

Biography

Born and raised in

The Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

, where he attended

DeWitt Clinton High School , motto_translation = Without Work Nothing Is Accomplished , image = DeWitt Clinton High School front entrance IMG 7441 HLG.jpg , seal_image = File:Clinton News.JPG , seal_size = 124px , ...

, Feldman graduated from Michigan State University, after which he was hired by

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

to work as a writer in the studio's press book department in its

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

headquarters. He quickly rose within the ranks, becoming the contact for

fan magazine A fan magazine is a commercially written and published magazine intended for the amusement of fans of the popular culture subject matter which it covers. It is distinguished from a scholarly, literary or trade magazine on the one hand, by the tar ...

s, then

trade paper A trade magazine, also called a trade journal or trade paper (colloquially or disparagingly a trade rag), is a magazine or newspaper whose target audience is people who work in a particular trade or industry. The collective term for this ...

s, and finally the

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

press. His employment at Fox was interrupted by a two-year stint with the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...

, during which he was stationed at the

Dover Air Force Base Dover Air Force Base or Dover AFB is a United States Air Force base under the operational control of the Air Mobility Command (AMC), located southeast of the city of Dover, Delaware. 436th AW is the host wing and runs the busiest and largest a ...

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

. His commanding officer expected him to use his skills as a

publicist A publicist is a person whose job is to generate and manage publicity for a company, a brand, or public figure – especially a celebrity – or for a work such as a book, film, or album. Publicists are public relations specialists who ...

to get him promoted from

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

general A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

, a task Feldman completed successfully before he returned to civilian life. In 1959, Feldman left Fox to promote ''

The World of Suzie Wong ''The World of Suzie Wong'' is a 1957 novel by British writer Richard Mason. The main characters are Robert Lomax, a young British artist living in Hong Kong, and Suzie Wong, the title character, a Chinese woman who works as a prostitute. ...

'' and its producer,

Ray Stark Raymond Otto Stark (October 3, 1915 – January 17, 2004) was one of the most successful and prolific independent film producers in postwar Hollywood. Stark's background as a literary and theatrical agent prepared him to produce some of the most ...

, for Paramount Pictures. His assignment began with location shooting in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

and ended with the release of the film. He clashed with Stark throughout the production, which prompted him to resign from Paramount and join Embassy Pictures as the head of advertising and publicity. Two years later, Stark invited him to join him at

Seven Arts Productions Seven Arts Productions was a production company which made films for release by other studios. It was founded in 1957 by Eliot Hyman, Ray Stark, and Norman Katz. History Seven Arts' first film was '' The Gun Runners'', released by United ...

, where his first project was the controversial screen adaptation of '' Lolita''. Due to Feldman's intervention, the Catholic Legion of Decency agreed not to rate the film "condemned" if the studio would enforce a rule banning anyone under the age of eighteen from theaters showing it. Once Seven Arts acquired

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

, Feldman relocated to Hollywood, where he remained with Warner Bros.-Seven Arts for two years, during which time he became active in film production. Because of his association with Stark, son-in-law of comedian Fanny Brice, Feldman handled advertising and publicity for the

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

production of '' Funny Girl'' throughout its run. Feldman's first credit as a film producer was the 1971 melodrama ''

What's the Matter with Helen? ''What's the Matter With Helen?'' is a 1971 American exploitation horror film directed by Curtis Harrington and starring Debbie Reynolds and Shelley Winters. Plot Leonard Hill and Wesley Bruckner are seen being loaded into a paddy wagon to face ...

'' starring Debbie Reynolds and

Shelley Winters Shelley Winters (born Shirley Schrift; August 18, 1920 – January 14, 2006) was an American actress whose career spanned seven decades. She appeared in numerous films. She won Academy Awards for ''The Diary of Anne Frank'' (1959) and ''A Patch o ...

. Additional credits include ''

Save the Tiger Save, SAVE, or Saved may refer to: Places *Save (Garonne), a river in southern France *Save River (Africa), a river in Zimbabwe and Mozambique *Sava, a river in Eastern Europe also known as Save *Savè, Benin, a commune and city * Save, Govuro ...

'', ''

The Other Side of the Mountain ''The Other Side of the Mountain'' is a 1975 American drama romance film based on the true story of ski racing champion Jill Kinmont. The UK title of the film was ''A Window to the Sky''. In early 1955, Kinmont was the national champion in sla ...

'', ''

Two-Minute Warning In most levels of professional American football, the two-minute warning is a suspension of play that occurs when two minutes remain on the game clock in each half of a game, i.e., near the end of the second and fourth quarters, and overtime. It ...

'', ''

The Last Married Couple in America ''The Last Married Couple in America'' is a 1980 comedy film released in the US. It was directed by Gilbert Cates, whose most successful film ''Oh, God! Book II'', was released in the same year. The film starred George Segal and Natalie Wood as ...

'', ''Hot Dog...The Movie'', ''

Witness In law, a witness is someone who has knowledge about a matter, whether they have sensed it or are testifying on another witnesses' behalf. In law a witness is someone who, either voluntarily or under compulsion, provides testimonial evidence, e ...

'', ''

The Golden Child ''The Golden Child'' is a 1986 American dark fantasy martial arts action comedy film directed by Michael Ritchie. The film stars Eddie Murphy as Chandler Jarrell, a Los Angeles social worker who is informed that he is " The Chosen One", and is ...

'', ''

Wired ''Wired'' (stylized as ''WIRED'') is a monthly American magazine, published in print and online editions, that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered in San ...

'', ''

Green Card A green card, known officially as a permanent resident card, is an identity document which shows that a person has permanent residency in the United States. ("The term 'lawfully admitted for permanent residence' means the status of having been ...

'', '' The Doctor'', '' Forever Young'', the live-action ''

The Jungle Book ''The Jungle Book'' (1894) is a collection of stories by the English author Rudyard Kipling. Most of the characters are animals such as Shere Khan the tiger and Baloo the bear, though a principal character is the boy or "man-cub" Mowgli, w ...

'', the live-action '' 101 Dalmatians'' and its sequel, '' 102 Dalmatians'', ''

The Truman Show ''The Truman Show'' is a 1998 American psychological satirical comedy-drama film directed by Peter Weir, produced by Scott Rudin, Andrew Niccol, Edward S. Feldman, and Adam Schroeder, and written by Niccol. The film stars Jim Carrey as Tr ...

'', and '' K-19: The Widowmaker''. In 1984, Edward S. Feldman teamed up with entertainment attorney Charles R. Meeker to start out The Feldman/Meeker Co. (aka FM Entertainment) in order to self-finance and make three-youth oriented films annually and the development of network and television projects. For television, Feldman produced several films and miniseries, including '' Moon of the Wolf'', '' Charles & Diana: A Royal Love Story'', and ''21 Hours at Munich'' and ''

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

'', both of which earned him Emmy Award nominations. He also was one of the producers of the short-lived series '' Flamingo Road''. Feldman was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture for ''Witness'' and the

BAFTA Award for Best Film The BAFTA Award for Best Film is given annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts and presented at the British Academy Film Awards. It has been given since the 1st BAFTA Awards, representing the best films of 1947, but until 1 ...

for ''Witness'' and ''The Truman Show''. In 2001, the

Hollywood Film Festival The Hollywood Film Festival is an annual film festival that takes place in Los Angeles, California, USA. History The Hollywood Film Festival was established in 1997 by author and producer Carlos de Abreu and his wife, model Janice Pennington.P ...

honored him for Outstanding Achievement in Producing. Feldman died on October 2, 2020, in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

.Edward S. Feldman Dies: Oscar-Nominated ‘Witness’ Producer Was 91
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Filmography

He was a producer in all films unless otherwise noted.

Film

;As an actor ;Miscellaneous crew

Television

References

External links

*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Feldman, Edward S. 1929 births 2020 deaths Film producers from New York (state) Television producers from New York City People from the Bronx Michigan State University alumni DeWitt Clinton High School alumni Military personnel from New York City