Gray Frederickson (July 21, 1937 – November 20, 2022) was an American film producer.

Frequent collaborators and history

Frederickson was a long-time producer for

Francis Ford Coppola Francis Ford Coppola ( ; born April 7, 1939) is an American filmmaker. He is considered one of the leading figures of the New Hollywood and one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. List of awards and nominations received by Francis Ford Coppo ...

and worked out of a studio alongside Greg Mellott out of

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

Robert De Niro Robert Anthony De Niro ( , ; born August 17, 1943) is an American actor, director, and film producer. He is considered to be one of the greatest and most influential actors of his generation. De Niro is the recipient of List of awards and ...

claims that in 1974 he and Frederickson went up to the Gulf and Western Building in

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 ...

to a private screening room to study

Marlon Brando Marlon Brando Jr. (April 3, 1924 – July 1, 2004) was an American actor. Widely regarded as one of the greatest cinema actors of the 20th century,''Movies in American History: An Encyclopedia''

's movements. De Niro compared it to a science experiment which prepared him for his character in ''

The Godfather Part II ''The Godfather Part II'' is a 1974 American epic film, epic crime film produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola, loosely based on the 1969 novel ''The Godfather (novel), The Godfather'' by Mario Puzo, who co-wrote the screenplay with Cop ...

''. Frederickson and Coppola collaborated on ''

Apocalypse Now ''Apocalypse Now'' is a 1979 American psychological epic war film produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The screenplay, co-written by Coppola, John Milius, and Michael Herr, is loosely inspired by the 1899 novella '' Heart of Darkn ...

'', '' One from the Heart'', and '' The Outsiders''. According to ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'', the first meeting between Frederickson, Coppola, and Al Ruddy was interrupted by a phone call from Brando.

Awards

Frederickson is best known for winning an

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People and fictional and mythical characters * Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar * Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer ...

as one of the co-producers of ''

'' at the 47th Academy Awards. In addition he was also nominated for ''

''. Frederickson won an

Emmy 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 catego ...

for ''Dream No Little Dream: The Life and Legacy of Robert S. Kerr'' (2007).

Later production

In the summer of 2015, Frederickson produced a new cinematic live theater art form called, 'Distant Vision' directed by

Personal life

Frederickson was married to Karen and resided in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. He died of

prostate cancer Prostate cancer is the neoplasm, uncontrolled growth of cells in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system below the bladder. Abnormal growth of the prostate tissue is usually detected through Screening (medicine), screening tests, ...

on November 20, 2022, at the age of 85.

References

External links

* 1937 births 2022 deaths Film producers from Oklahoma Businesspeople from Oklahoma City Producers who won the Best Picture Academy Award Deaths from cancer in Oklahoma Deaths from prostate cancer in the United States {{US-film-producer-stub