Alexander Salkind (; 2 June 1921 – 8 March 1997) was a French film producer, the second of three generations of successful international producers.

Life and career

Salkind was born in the

Free City of Danzig The Free City of Danzig (; ) was a city-state under the protection and oversight of the League of Nations between 1920 and 1939, consisting of the Baltic Sea port of Danzig (now Gdańsk, Poland) and nearly 200 other small localities in the surrou ...

Russian Jewish The history of the Jews in Russia and areas historically connected with it goes back at least 1,500 years. Jews in Russia have historically constituted a large religious and ethnic diaspora; the Russian Empire at one time hosted the largest po ...

parents, Maria and Mikhail Salkind (later Miguel Salkind). His family moved to France, where his father worked as a film producer. Following in his father's footsteps, he produced French films and others in Europe and Hollywood: '' Austerlitz'' (1960) directed by

Abel Gance Abel Gance (; born Abel Eugène Alexandre Péréthon; 25 October 188910 November 1981) was a French film director, producer, writer and actor. A pioneer in the theory and practice of montage, he is best known for three major silent films: ''J'ac ...

, Kafka's ''

The Trial ''The Trial'' () is a novel written by Franz Kafka in 1914 and 1915 and published posthumously on 26 April 1925. One of his best-known works, it tells the story of Josef K., a man arrested and prosecuted by a remote, inaccessible authority, wi ...

'' (1962) directed by

Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American director, actor, writer, producer, and magician who is remembered for his innovative work in film, radio, and theatre. He is among the greatest and most influential film ...

, and 1978's ''

Superman Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...

'' starring

Christopher Reeve Christopher D'Olier Reeve (September 25, 1952 – October 10, 2004) was an American actor, activist, director, and author. He amassed Christopher Reeve on stage and screen, several stage and screen credits in his 34-year career, including playin ...

and

Margot Kidder Margaret Ruth Kidder (October 17, 1948 – May 13, 2018) was a Canadian and American actress and activist. She amassed List of Margot Kidder performances, several film and television credits in her career spanning five decades, including her bes ...

. Salkind's double production, ''

The Three Musketeers ''The Three Musketeers'' () is a French historical adventure novel written and published in 1844 by French author Alexandre Dumas. It is the first of the author's three d'Artagnan Romances. As with some of his other works, he wrote it in col ...

'' (1973), closely followed by '' The Four Musketeers'' (1974), led the

Screen Actors Guild The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) was an American labor union which represented over 100,000 film and television principal and background performers worldwide. On March 30, 2012, the union leadership announced that the SAG membership voted to m ...

to issue what became known as the "Salkind Clause", which is intended to guarantee that an acting contract for one film cannot be extended into two films without the consent of the actor. In 1985,

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

named Salkind as one of the honorees in the company's 50th anniversary publication '' Fifty Who Made DC Great'' for his work on the ''Superman'' film franchise. Alexander Salkind died in

Neuilly-sur-Seine Neuilly-sur-Seine (; 'Neuilly-on-Seine'), also known simply as Neuilly, is an urban Communes of France, commune in the Hauts-de-Seine Departments of France, department just west of Paris in France. Immediately adjacent to the city, north of the ...

in 1997 and was buried in the Cimetière de Bagneux in the Parisian suburb of

Montrouge Montrouge () is a Communes of France, commune in the southern Parisian suburbs, located from the centre of Paris. It is one of the most densely populated municipalities in Europe. After a long period of decline, the population has increased agai ...

. Salkind's son, Ilya Salkind (b. 1947), is also a film producer.

Filmography

*''Marina'' (1945 – producer) *''Soltera y con Gemelos'' (1945 – producer) *''Sinfonia de una vida'' (1946 – producer; also known as ''The Symphony of Life'') *'' Il moderno Barba Azul'' (''A Modern Bluebeard'') (1946 – producer; released in the U.S. as ''Boom to the Moon'') *'' Black Jack'' (1950 – co-producer; also known as ''Captain Black Jack'') * '' The Daughter of the Regiment'' (1953 – producer; released in Italy as ''La figlia del Reggimento'', and in the U.S. as ''The Daughter of the Regiment'') *' (1958 – producer; released in Italy as ''A Parigi in vacanza'', and worldwide as ''My Darned Father'') *'' Austerlitz'' (1960 – producer; released in the U.S. as ''The Battle of Austerlitz'', and in Italy as ''Napoleone ad Austerlitz'' or ''La Battaglia di Austerlitz'') *'' Romulus and the Sabines'' (1961 – producer; released in France as ''L'Enlevement des Sabines'', and in Latin America as ''El Rapto de las Sabinas'') *''

'' (''Le Procès'') (1962 – producer, uncredited; released in West Germany as ''Der Prozess'', and in Italy as ''Il Processo'') *'' Ballad in Blue'' (1965 – producer; also known as ''Blues for Lovers'') *''

Cervantes Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra ( ; ; 29 September 1547 (assumed) – 22 April 1616 NS) was a Spanish writer widely regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language and one of the world's pre-eminent novelists. He is best known for his no ...

'' (1967 – producer; released in the U.S. as ''The Life of Cervantes'' or ''Young Rebel'', in France as ''Les Aventures Extraordinaires de Cervantes'', and in Italy as ''Le Avventure e Gli Amori di Cervantes'') *'' Hot Line'' (1967 – producer; released in France as ''Le Rouble à deux faces'') *''

The Light at the Edge of the World ''The Light at the Edge of the World'' is a 1971 Spanish-American adventure film, directed by Kevin Billington and starring Kirk Douglas, Yul Brynner, Samantha Eggar, and Fernando Rey. It was adapted from Jules Verne's classic 1905 adventure nov ...

'' (1971 – presenter, executive producer) *'' Kill!'' (1971 – producer/presenter; released in the U.S. as ''Kill, Kill, Kill!'', in Spain as ''Kill: Matar'', and in France as ''Police Magnum'') *''

Bluebeard "Bluebeard" ( ) is a French Folklore, folktale, the most famous surviving version of which was written by Charles Perrault and first published by Barbin in Paris in 1697 in . The tale is about a wealthy man in the habit of murdering his wives an ...

'' (1972 – producer/presenter; released in Italy as ''Barbablu'', in West Germany as ''Blaubart'', and in France as ''Barbe-bleue'') *''

'' (1973 – producer/presenter; also known as ''The Queen's Diamonds'') *'' The Four Musketeers'' (1974 – producer/presenter; also known as ''Milady's Revenge'' or ''The Revenge of Milady'') *'' Folies bourgeoises'' (1976 – producer/presenter; released in the U.S. as ''The Twist'', in West Germany as ''Die Verruckten Reichen'', and in Italy as ''Pazzi Borghesi'') *'' Crossed Swords'' (1978 – presenter; also known as ''The Prince and the Pauper'') *'' Superman: The Movie'' (1978 – presenter) *''

Superman II ''Superman II'' is a 1980 superhero film directed by Richard Lester and written by Mario Puzo and David Newman (screenwriter), David and Leslie Newman from a story by Puzo based on the DC Comics character Superman. It is the second installment i ...

'' (1980 – presenter; released in the U.S. in 1981) *''

Superman III ''Superman III'' is a 1983 superhero film directed by Richard Lester from a screenplay by David Newman and Leslie Newman based on the DC Comics character Superman. It is the third installment in the ''Superman'' film series and the sequel to ''S ...

'' (1983 – presenter) *'' Where Is Parsifal?'' (1983 – presenter, uncredited) *''

Supergirl Supergirl is the name of several fictional superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The original, current, and most well known Supergirl is Supergirl (Kara Zor-El), Kara Zor-El, the cousin of superhero Superman. Th ...

'' (1984 – presenter) *'' Santa Claus: The Movie'' (1985 – presenter) *'' The Rainbow Thief'' (1990 – executive producer, uncredited) *'' Christopher Columbus: The Discovery'' (1992 – presenter) *'' Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut'' (2006 – presenter)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Salkind, Alexander 1921 births 1997 deaths People from the Free City of Danzig Burials at the Cimetière parisien de Bagneux French film producers French people of Russian descent French people of Russian-Jewish descent