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 the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

, where he attended DeWitt Clinton High School, Feldman graduated from

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State o ...

, after which he was hired by

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...

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

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

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 fan (aficionado), fans of the popular culture subject matter that it covers. It is distinguished from a scholarly, literary or trade magazine on the one h ...

s, then trade papers, and finally the

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

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 Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

, during which he was stationed at the

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

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

. 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 work or a project such as a book, film, or album. Publicists are public relations specialists wh ...

to get him promoted from

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), 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 colon ...

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

, a task Feldman completed successfully before he returned to civilian life. In 1959, Feldman left Fox to promote '' The World of Suzie Wong'' and its producer, Ray Stark, for

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

. His assignment began with location shooting in

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

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, where his first project was the controversial screen adaptation of ''

Lolita ''Lolita'' is a 1955 novel written by Russian-American novelist Vladimir Nabokov. The protagonist and narrator is a French literature professor who moves to New England and writes under the pseudonym Humbert Humbert. He details his obsession ...

''. 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., 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 Fania Borach (October 29, 1891 – May 29, 1951), known professionally as Fanny Brice or Fannie Brice, was an American comedian, Illustrated Songs, illustrated song model, singer, and actress who made many stage, radio, and film appearances. Sh ...

, Feldman handled advertising and publicity for the Broadway production of '' Funny Girl'' throughout its run. Feldman's first credit as a film producer was the 1971

melodrama A melodrama is a Drama, dramatic work in which plot, typically sensationalized for a strong emotional appeal, takes precedence over detailed characterization. Melodrama is "an exaggerated version of drama". Melodramas typically concentrate on ...

'' What's the Matter with Helen?'' starring

Debbie Reynolds Mary Frances "Debbie" Reynolds (April 1, 1932 – December 28, 2016) was an American actress, singer and entrepreneur. Her acting career spanned almost 70 years. Reynolds performed on stage and television and in films into her 80s. She was nom ...

and Shelley Winters. Additional credits include '' Save the Tiger'', '' The Other Side of the Mountain'', ''

Two-Minute Warning The two-minute warning is a suspension of play in an American football game 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. Its effect on play is s ...

'', '' The Last Married Couple in America'', ''Hot Dog...The Movie'', ''

Witness In law, a witness is someone who, either voluntarily or under compulsion, provides testimonial evidence, either oral or written, of what they know or claim to know. A witness might be compelled to provide testimony in court, before a grand jur ...

'', '' The Golden Child'', ''

Wired Wired may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''Wired'' (Jeff Beck album), 1976 * ''Wired'' (Hugh Cornwell album), 1993 * ''Wired'' (Mallory Knox album), 2017 * "Wired", a song by Prism from their album '' Beat Street'' * "Wired ...

'', '' Green Card'', '' The Doctor'', '' Forever Young'', the live-action '' The Jungle Book'', the live-action '' 101 Dalmatians'' and its sequel, '' 102 Dalmatians'', '' The Truman Show'', 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 A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of Visual arts, visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are gen ...

and

miniseries In the United States, a miniseries or mini-series is a television show or series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. Many miniseries can also be referred to, and shown, as a television film. " Limited series" is ...

, including '' Moon of the Wolf'', '' Charles & Diana: A Royal Love Story'', and ''21 Hours at Munich'' and ''

King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

'', both of which earned him

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

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 The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards (also known as Oscars) 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 a ...

for ''Witness'' and the

BAFTA Award for Best Film The BAFTA Award for Best Film is a film award 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 19 ...

for ''Witness'' and ''The Truman Show''. In 2001, the Hollywood Film Festival honored him for Outstanding Achievement in Producing. Feldman died on October 2, 2020, in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

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

Film

Producer * '' The Other Side of the Mountain'' (1975) * ''

'' (1976) * '' The Other Side of the Mountain Part 2'' (1978) * '' The Last Married Couple in America'' (1980) * ''

The Sender ''The Sender'' is a 1982 British-American supernatural horror film directed by Roger Christian (filmmaker), Roger Christian, written by Tom Baum, Thomas Baum, and starring Kathryn Harrold, Željko Ivanek (in his film debut), Shirley Knight, and ...

'' (1982) * '' Hot Dog…The Movie'' (1984) * ''

'' (1985) * '' Explorers'' (1985) * '' The Golden Child'' (1986) * ''

'' (1989) * '' Honey, I Blew Up the Kid'' (1992) * '' The Jungle Book'' (1994) * '' The Truman Show'' (1998) * '' 102 Dalmatians'' (2000) * '' K-19: The Widowmaker'' (2002) Executive producer * '' What's the Matter with Helen?'' (1971) * '' Fuzz'' (1972) * '' Save the Tiger'' (1973) * '' Six Pack'' (1982) * '' The Hitcher'' (1986) * '' Hamburger: The Motion Picture'' (1986) * '' Near Dark'' (1987) * '' Green Card'' (1990) * '' The Doctor'' (1991) * '' Forever Young'' (1992) * '' My Father the Hero'' (1992) * '' 101 Dalmatians'' (1996) Acting roles ;Miscellaneous crew

Television

Executive producer

References

External links

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