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Gilbert Cates (
The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...
Katz; June 6, 1934 – October 31, 2011) was an American film director and television producer, director of the
Geffen Playhouse The Geffen Playhouse is a not-for-profit theater company founded in Los Angeles, California by Gilbert Cates in 1995. It produces plays in two theaters in Geffen Playhouse, which is owned by University of California Los Angeles. The Playhous ...
, a member of Cates/Doty Productions, and founding dean of the
UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television The UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television (UCLA TFT), is one of the 12 schools within the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) located in Los Angeles, California. Its creation was groundbreaking in that it was the first time a leadi ...
. Cates is most known for having produced the
Academy Awards The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in ...
telecast a record 14 times between 1990 and 2008.


Personal life

Cates was born Gilbert Katz in New York City, the son of Jewish parents Nina (née Peltzman) and Nathan Katz, who was a dress manufacturer. He attended
DeWitt Clinton High School DeWitt Clinton High School is a public high school located since 1929 in the Bronx borough of New York City. Opened in 1897 in Lower Manhattan as an all-boys school, it maintained that status for 86 years before becoming co-ed in 1983. From i ...
, and graduated from Syracuse University. According to '' The Jewish Journal'', Cates stumbled into his profession by accident: While a pre-med student at Syracuse University, he joined the fencing team and was asked to instruct student actors in a production of ''Richard III'' on how to handle swords. He was so taken by the experience that he changed his major to theater. Cates was a member of the
Reform Jewish Reform Judaism, also known as Liberal Judaism or Progressive Judaism, is a major Jewish denomination that emphasizes the evolving nature of Judaism, the superiority of its ethical aspects to its ceremonial ones, and belief in a continuous rev ...
Wilshire Boulevard Temple The Wilshire Boulevard Temple, known from 1862 to 1933 as Congregation B'nai B'rith, is a Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue at 3663 Wilshire Boulevard, in the Wilshire Center neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded ...
. ''The Jewish Journal'' quotes him as saying that he only attended services on the
High Holy Days In Judaism, the High Holy Days, also known as High Holidays or Days of Awe (Yamim Noraim; , ''Yāmīm Nōrāʾīm'') consist of: #strictly, the holidays of Rosh Hashanah ("Jewish New Year") and Yom Kippur ("Day of Atonement"); #by extension, th ...
, but felt "very proud to be Jewish".Hollywood Reporter: "Hollywood's Hottest $150 Million Project Is an 83-Year-Old Synagogue - Studio heads, agency chieftains and top producers have come together, "Avengers"-style, to save their iconic but decaying Wilshire Boulevard Temple -- an A-list house of worship far from the Westside" by Gary Baum
May 30, 2012
Cates was first married to Jane Betty Dubin and then to gynecologist Judith Reichman. He had four children from his first marriage, including Gil Cates Jr., and two stepchildren from his second marriage, and seven grandchildren. He was the younger brother of Joseph Cates who was also a director and producer, and the uncle of actress
Phoebe Cates Phoebe Belle Cates Kline (born July 16, 1963) is an American businesswoman and retired actress and model. She appeared in the films '' Fast Times at Ridgemont High'' (1982), '' Gremlins'' (1984), '' Gremlins 2: The New Batch'' (1990), '' Drop D ...
. On October 31, 2011, Cates, 77, suffered an apparent heart attack and died in a UCLA parking lot.


Career

Cates was a producing director and president of the board at the
Geffen Playhouse The Geffen Playhouse is a not-for-profit theater company founded in Los Angeles, California by Gilbert Cates in 1995. It produces plays in two theaters in Geffen Playhouse, which is owned by University of California Los Angeles. The Playhous ...
. He directed many feature films including '' I Never Sang for My Father'' (1970), and ''
Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams ''Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams'' is a 1973 American Technicolor drama film directed by Gilbert Cates and written by Stewart Stern, starring Joanne Woodward, Martin Balsam, and Sylvia Sidney. It tells the story of a New York City housewife who ...
'' (1973), both nominated for Oscars, ''
Oh, God! Book II ''Oh, God! Book II'' is a 1980 American comedy film, directed by Gilbert Cates from a script co-written by Josh Greenfeld, Hal Goldman, Fred S. Fox, Seaman Jacobs, and Melissa Miller. The movie is a sequel to '' Oh, God!'' (1977), and the seco ...
'' (1980) and '' The Last Married Couple in America'' (1980). He also produced and directed Broadway and off-Broadway plays, including ''I Never Sang for My Father'' and ''
You Know I Can't Hear You When the Water's Running In Modern English, the word "''you''" is the second-person pronoun. It is grammatically plural, and was historically used only for the dative case, but in most modern dialects is used for all cases and numbers. History ''You'' comes from ...
''. Cates produced the Academy Awards 14 times between 1990 and 2008 and was credited with recruiting
Billy Crystal William Edward Crystal (born March 14, 1948)On page 17 of his book ''700 Sundays'', Crystal displays his birth announcement, which gives his first two names as "William Edward", not "William Jacob" is an American comedian, actor, and filmmaker. ...
,
Whoopi Goldberg Caryn Elaine Johnson (born November 13, 1955), known professionally as Whoopi Goldberg (), is an American actor, comedian, author, and television personality.Kuchwara, Michael (AP Drama Writer)"Whoopi Goldberg: A One-Woman Character Parade". ...
,
David Letterman David Michael Letterman (born April 12, 1947) is an American television host, comedian, writer, producer, and auto racing team owner. He hosted late-night television talk shows for 33 years, beginning with the February 1, 1982, debut of ''Late N ...
,
Steve Martin Stephen Glenn Martin (born August 14, 1945) is an American comedian, actor, writer, producer, and musician. Known for Steve Martin filmography, his work in comedy films, television, and #Discography, recording, he has received List of awards a ...
,
Chris Rock Christopher Julius Rock (born February 7, 1965) is an American comedian, actor, and filmmaker. He first gained prominence for his stand-up routines in the 1980s in which he tackled subjects including race relations, human sexuality, and obse ...
, and
Jon Stewart Jon Stewart (born Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz, November 28, 1962) is an American comedian, writer, producer, director, political commentator, actor, and television host. The long-running host of ''The Daily Show'' on Comedy Central from 1999 to 20 ...
to serve as hosts. He served on the Academy's Board of Governors from 1984 to 1993, winning an Emmy in 1991 for the 63rd annual Oscars. He returned to the board for another term beginning in 2002, and held the post of vice president from 2003 to 2005. From 1983 to 1987 he served as president of the Directors Guild of America. On April 8, 1991, he became dean of UCLA's newly combined School of Theater, Film and Television, a post he held until 1998, and was a faculty member of the school as a professor. In 2005 Cates received a star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a landmark which consists of 2,813 five-pointed terrazzo-and-brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in the Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood dist ...
.


References


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cates, Gilbert 1934 births 2011 deaths 20th-century American Jews
Gilbert Cates Gilbert Cates ( né Katz; June 6, 1934 – October 31, 2011) was an American film director and television producer, director of the Geffen Playhouse, a member of Cates/Doty Productions, and founding dean of the UCLA School of Theater, Film an ...
Television producers from New York City DeWitt Clinton High School alumni Presidents of the Directors Guild of America CAS Filmmaker Award honorees Syracuse University alumni Burials at Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery Film directors from New York City 21st-century American Jews University of California, Los Angeles faculty