Kenneth Utt (July 13, 1921 – January 19, 1994), was an American film producer and

unit production manager In the cinema of the United States, a unit production manager (UPM) is the Directors Guild of America–approved title for the top below-the-line staff position, responsible for the administration of a feature film or television production. Non- ...

. He received the

Academy Award for Best Picture The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) since the awards debuted in 1929. This award goes to the producers of the film and is the only categ ...

for producing '' The Silence of the Lambs'' (1991).

Life and career

Utt was born in

Winston-Salem, North Carolina Winston-Salem is a city and the county seat of Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States. In the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the second-largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region, the Li ...

, on July 13, 1921. He graduated from Elon College (now

Elon University Elon University is a private university in Elon, North Carolina. Founded in 1889 as Elon College, Elon is organized into six schools, most of which offer bachelor's degrees and several of which offer master's degrees or professional doctora ...

) in Elon, N.C. in 1942. He received a scholarship to

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely ...

where he studied vocals in hopes of becoming an opera singer. Utt served in the Army Air Forces during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. He returned home and became a stage and radio actor, appearing in shows like ''

Carousel A carousel or carrousel (mainly North American English), merry-go-round (international), roundabout (British English), or hurdy-gurdy (an old term in Australian English, in SA) is a type of amusement ride consisting of a rotating circular pl ...

''. Utt began working in production on stage performances of ''

Peter Pan Peter Pan is a fictional character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood having adventures on the mythi ...

'', the lesser known 1950

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 ...

version with music by

Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein ( ; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was the first America ...

.''Peter Pan'' (1950 version), music by Leonard Bernstein
at IBDB He then became a film line producer for films like ''

Midnight Cowboy ''Midnight Cowboy'' is a 1969 American drama film, based on the 1965 novel of the same name by James Leo Herlihy. The film was written by Waldo Salt, directed by John Schlesinger, and stars Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight, with notable smaller ...

'' (1969), '' The French Connection'' (1971), '' The Seven-Ups'' (1973) and '' All That Jazz'' (1979). Utt was a producer and unit production manager on four

Jonathan Demme Robert Jonathan Demme ( ; February 22, 1944 – April 26, 2017) was an American filmmaker. Beginning his career under B-movie producer Roger Corman, Demme made his directorial debut with the 1974 women-in-prison film '' Caged Heat'', befo ...

films: '' Something Wild'' (1986), ''

Married to the Mob ''Married to the Mob'' is a 1988 American crime comedy film directed by Jonathan Demme, and starring Michelle Pfeiffer, Matthew Modine, Dean Stockwell, Mercedes Ruehl, and Alec Baldwin. Pfeiffer plays Angela de Marco, a gangster's widow from B ...

'' (1988), '' The Silence of the Lambs'' (1991) and ''

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

'' (1993), with ''Lambs'' and ''Philadelphia'' earning awards at the Oscars. Utt was among the three producers who received Best Picture for ''Lambs'', in which he also made a cameo appearance.

Death

Utt died on January 19, 1994, at Mount Sinai Hospital in

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 ...

at the age of 72. The cause was

bone cancer A bone tumor is an abnormal growth of tissue in bone, traditionally classified as noncancerous (benign) or cancerous (malignant). Cancerous bone tumors usually originate from a cancer in another part of the body such as from lung, breast, thy ...

. He is survived by his wife Angie, son Tim Utt, and daughter Robin Utt Fajardo.

Filmography

''He was a producer in all films unless otherwise noted.''

Film

;Production manager ;As an actor ;Miscellaneous crew ;Location management ;Thanks

Television

;Production manager ;As an actor ;Miscellaneous crew ;Thanks

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Utt, Kenneth 1921 births 1994 deaths American film producers Producers who won the Best Picture Academy Award Deaths from bone cancer Actors from Winston-Salem, North Carolina Juilliard School alumni American male stage actors American male radio actors Male actors from North Carolina Deaths from cancer in New York (state) United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II 20th-century American male actors 20th-century American businesspeople Unit production managers