Guy "David" Gundlach (July 21, 1955 – October 16, 2011) was an American entrepreneur, business leader and film producer. He founded the insurance company Hastings Direct and produced the award-winning film '' Get Low''.

Education and career

David Gundlach was born in

Downey, California Downey is a city located in Southeast Los Angeles County, California, United States, southeast of Downtown Los Angeles. It is considered part of the Gateway Cities. The city is the birthplace of the Apollo space program and Taco Bell. It is ...

in 1955 to parents Melvin Gundlach and Marjorie (Riblet) Gundlach Swift. When Gundlach was 12, he and his widowed mother moved with her maternal grandmother, Josephine Riblet, who had suffered a stroke. He grew up in

Elkhart, Indiana Elkhart ( ) is a city in Elkhart County, Indiana, United States. The population was 53,923 at the 2020 census. The city is located east of South Bend, Indiana. It is the most populous city in the Elkhart–Goshen metropolitan area, which in tu ...

and graduated in 1973 from Elkhart Memorial High School. He graduated from

Chapman College Chapman University is a private research university in Orange, California, United States. Encompassing eleven colleges, the university is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity". The school maintains its founding ...

in 1979 and went on to work in the Informational Technology department for

IBM International Business Machines Corporation (using the trademark IBM), nicknamed Big Blue, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, and present in over 175 countries. It is ...

. After time at

Lloyd's of London Lloyd's of London, generally known simply as Lloyd's, is a insurance and reinsurance market located in London, England. Unlike most of its competitors in the industry, it is not an insurance company; rather, Lloyd's is a corporate body gover ...

, Gundlach, along with Andrew Bowen, founded Hastings Direct, a direct insurance company based in England in 1996. Hastings performed business in countries all over the world and employed over 1,500 people. Gundlach sold Hastings Direct to

Insurance Australia Group Insurance Australia Group Limited (IAG) is a multinational insurance company. It is the largest general insurance company in Australia, and also the largest in New Zealand through its subsidiary IAG New Zealand. IAG had its origins in the Na ...

in 2006. He went to Los Angeles to launch a movie production company. In 2009, he produced the film ''Get Low'' starring

Robert Duvall Robert Selden Duvall (; born January 5, 1931) is an American actor. With a career spanning seven decades, he is regarded as one of the greatest actors of all time. He has received an Academy Awards, Academy Award, a British Academy Film Awards ...

Sissy Spacek Mary Elizabeth "Sissy" Spacek (; born December 25, 1949) is an American actress and singer. She has received List of awards and nominations received by Sissy Spacek, numerous accolades throughout her career spanning over five decades, including ...

and

Bill Murray William James Murray (born September 21, 1950) is an American actor and comedian, known for his deadpan delivery in roles ranging from studio comedies to independent dramas. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Bill Murra ...

. Set in the 1930s, a

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

hermit throws his own funeral party while still alive. The film won Gundlach an

Independent Spirit Award The Independent Spirit Awards, originally known as the FINDIE or Friends of Independents Awards, and later as the Film Independent Spirit Awards, are awards presented annually in Santa Monica, California, to independent filmmakers. Founded in ...

in the category of "Best First Feature" and it was nominated for several other awards.

Community Foundation of Elkhart County

Gundlach died from a heart attack at age 56 on October 16, 2011. Gundlach's hometown of

would soon learn that his estate had bequeathed $125 million to the Community Foundation of Elkhart County. While Gundlach hinted he would one day leave money to the Community Foundation, it was unknown just how much of a fortune Gundlach had amassed, not even to his mother, who was his lone survivor. The gift was expected to multiply the charitable giving of the Community Foundation by ten times. There was also no stipulations as to how the Community Foundation was to spend the money.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gundlach, David 1955 births 2011 deaths Businesspeople from California Film producers from California 20th-century American businesspeople