Jerome Hellman (September 4, 1928 – May 26, 2021) was an American film producer. He is best known for being the 42nd recipient of 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 ''

Midnight Cowboy ''Midnight Cowboy'' is a 1969 American drama film directed by John Schlesinger, adapted by Waldo Salt from the 1965 novel by James Leo Herlihy. The film stars Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight, with supporting roles played by Sylvia Miles, J ...

'' (1969). His 1978 film '' Coming Home'' was nominated for the same award.

Life and career

Hellman was born to a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

family in New York City. He began his career as a talent agent starting with the Ashley/Steiner Agency and shortly set out on his own to form Jerome Hellman Associates, which represented some of the outstanding directors, writers and producers during the "golden age" of live television. Hellman had his first taste of producing when he took over the role of Executive Producer from his client, President and Producer Worthington C. Miner, in the final days of Unit Four Productions, a partnership of

George Roy Hill George Roy Hill (December 20, 1921 – December 27, 2002) was an American actor and film director. His films include ''Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid'' (1969) and ''The Sting'' (1973), both starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford; both fil ...

, Franklin Shaffner and

Fielder Cook Fielder Cook (March 9, 1923 – June 20, 2003) was an American television and film director, producer, and writer whose 1971 television film ''The Homecoming: A Christmas Story'' spawned the series ''The Waltons''. Biography and career Born in ...

, producing live one-hour dramas on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

(1955–57). After leaving NBC, Hill, Shaffner and Cook moved on to directing assignments at ''

Playhouse 90 ''Playhouse 90'' is an American television anthology drama series that aired on CBS from 1956 to 1960 for a total of 134 episodes. The show was produced at CBS Television City in Los Angeles, California. Since live anthology drama series of t ...

'', the first 90-minute TV drama series out of

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

's new studio on the West Coast. In 1959, Hellman dissolved his talent agency and turned to producing motion pictures exclusively. He partnered with

and produced his first film, ''

The World of Henry Orient ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

'' (1964), with

directing, starring

Peter Sellers Peter Sellers (born Richard Henry Sellers; 8 September 1925 – 24 July 1980) was an English actor and comedian. He first came to prominence performing in the BBC Radio comedy series ''The Goon Show''. Sellers featured on a number of hit comi ...

(in his first film made in America),

Angela Lansbury Dame Angela Brigid Lansbury (October 16, 1925 – October 11, 2022) was an Irish-British and American actress, producer, and singer. In a career spanning 80 years, she played various roles on stage and screen. Among her numerous accolades wer ...

and

Tom Bosley Thomas Edward Bosley (October 1, 1927 – October 19, 2010) was an American actor, television personality and entertainer. Bosley is best known for portraying Howard Cunningham (Happy Days character), Howard Cunningham on the American Broadcasti ...

. Over the next 25 years he produced six more feature films: '' A Fine Madness'' (1966) starring

Sean Connery Sir Thomas Sean Connery (25 August 1930 – 31 October 2020) was a Scottish actor. He was the first actor to Portrayal of James Bond in film, portray the fictional British secret agent James Bond (literary character), James Bond in motion pic ...

Joanne Woodward Joanne Gignilliat Trimmier Woodward (born February 27, 1930) is an American retired actress. She made her career breakthrough in the 1950s and earned esteem and respect playing complex women with a characteristic nuance and depth of character. ...

and Jean Seberg; ''

'' (1969) starring

Dustin Hoffman Dustin Lee Hoffman (born August 8, 1937) is an American actor. As one of the key actors in the formation of New Hollywood, Hoffman is known for Dustin Hoffman filmography, his versatile portrayals of antiheroes and emotionally vulnerable charac ...

and

Jon Voight Jonathan Vincent Voight (; born December 29, 1938) is an American actor. Throughout his career, he has received numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and four Golden Globe Awards as well as nominations ...

; '' The Day of the Locust'' (1975) starring

Donald Sutherland Donald McNichol Sutherland (17 July 1935 – 20 June 2024) was a Canadian actor. With a career spanning six decades, he received List of awards and nominations received by Donald Sutherland, numerous accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award ...

Karen Black Karen Blanche Black (née Ziegler; July 1, 1939 – August 8, 2013) was an American actress, screenwriter, singer, and songwriter. She rose to prominence for her work in various studio and independent films in the 1970s, frequently portr ...

Burgess Meredith Oliver Burgess Meredith (November 16, 1907 – September 9, 1997) was an American actor and filmmaker whose career encompassed radio, theater, film, and television. Active for more than six decades, Meredith has been called "a virtuosic actor" ...

and

William Atherton William Atherton (born July 30, 1947) is an American actor. He had starring roles in ''The Sugarland Express'' (1974), '' The Day of the Locust'' (1975), '' The Hindenburg'' (1975) and '' Looking for Mr. Goodbar'' (1977), but is most recognized ...

; '' Coming Home'' (1978) starring

Jane Fonda Jane Seymour Fonda (born December 21, 1937) is an American actress and activist. Recognized as a film icon, Jane Fonda filmography, Fonda's work spans several genres and over six decades of film and television. She is the recipient of List of a ...

and

Bruce Dern Bruce MacLeish Dern (born June 4, 1936) is an American actor. He has received several accolades, including the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor and the Silver Bear for Best Actor. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Suppo ...

; '' Promises in the Dark'' (1979), also directed by Hellman, starring

Marsha Mason Marsha Mason (born April 3, 1942) is an American actress and theatre director. She has been nominated four times for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performances in '' Cinderella Liberty'' (1973), '' The Goodbye Girl'' (1977), '' Chap ...

and

Ned Beatty Ned Thomas Beatty (July 6, 1937 – June 13, 2021) was an American actor. In a career that spanned five decades, he appeared in more than 160 film and television roles. Throughout his career, Beatty gained a reputation for being "the busiest ac ...

; and '' The Mosquito Coast'' (1986) starring

Harrison Ford Harrison Ford (born July 13, 1942) is an American actor. Regarded as a cinematic cultural icon, he has starred in Harrison Ford filmography, many notable films over seven decades, and is one of List of highest-grossing actors, the highest-gr ...

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and

River Phoenix River Jude Phoenix (; August 23, 1970 – October 31, 1993) was an American actor. He was known as a teen actor before taking on leading roles in critically acclaimed films and becoming one of the most preeminent talents of his generation. Pho ...

. His collaboration with director

John Schlesinger John Richard Schlesinger ( ; 16 February 1926 – 25 July 2003) was an English film and stage director, and actor. He emerged in the early 1960s as a leading light of the British New Wave, before embarking on a successful career in Hollywood ...

and screenwriter

Waldo Salt Waldo Miller Salt (October 18, 1914 – March 7, 1987) was an American screenwriter. He wrote the Academy Award-winning screenplays for ''Midnight Cowboy'' (1969) and ''Coming Home (1978 film), Coming Home'' (1978). Early life and career S ...

in the production of ''Midnight Cowboy'' garnered seven Academy Award nominations and won Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Screenplay. This creative team would last through ''The Day of the Locust'' and the early production stages of ''Coming Home''. ''Coming Home'' was directed by

Hal Ashby William Hal Ashby (September 2, 1929 – December 27, 1988) was an Cinema of the United States, American film Film director, director and Film editing, editor. His work exemplified the countercultural attitude of the era. He directed wide-rangi ...

and received eight Academy Award nominations including Best Picture. It won Academy Awards for Jon Voight (Best Actor), Jane Fonda (Best Actress), and

, Robert C. Jones and Nancy Dowd (Best Original Screenplay). Hellman's seven feature films garnered seventeen Oscar nominations and won six. In 1995 he was a member of the jury at the

19th Moscow International Film Festival The 19th Moscow International Film Festival was held from 17 to 28 July 1995. The Golden St. George was not awarded. Jury * Richard Gere (United States – President of the Jury) * Friedrich Gorenstein (Germany) * Aurelio De Laurentiis (Italy) ...

. Hellman had a stroke twelve years prior to his death. He died after a long illness at his home in South Egremont, Massachusetts on May 26, 2021, at age 92.

Filmography

Producer

*''

'' (1964) *'' A Fine Madness'' (1966) *''

'' (1969) *'' The Day of the Locust'' (1975) *'' Coming Home'' (1978) *'' Promises in the Dark'' (1979) also director *'' The Mosquito Coast'' (1986)

Actor

*''

Being There ''Being There'' is a 1979 American satirical comedy-drama film starring Peter Sellers, Shirley MacLaine, and Melvyn Douglas. Directed by Hal Ashby, it is based on the 1971 novel '' Being There'' by Jerzy Kosiński, and adapted for the scr ...

'' (1979) - Gary Burns

Awards and nominations

(1970), ''

'' (1969) *Academy Award nomination for Best Picture (1979) '' Coming Home'' (1978)

References

External links

* *Elizabeth Taylor presenting Jerome Hellman with the Best Picture Oscar for ''Midnight Cowboy'' at the 42nd Academy Awards, 1970 /www.youtube.com/watch?v=AnPcKk3YO3s on YouTube {{DEFAULTSORT:Hellman, Jerome 1928 births 2021 deaths 20th-century American businesspeople American Jews Businesspeople from New York City Film directors from New York City Film producers from New York (state) People from Berkshire County, Massachusetts Producers who won the Best Picture Academy Award