Nancy Kassell Littlefield (September 18, 1929 – August 30, 2007) was a director and producer of television and documentary programs, who was the director of 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 ...

Mayor’s Office of Film, Theater and Broadcasting from 1978 until 1983, during the administration of then-Mayor Edward I. Koch. She was born 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 ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. Her assignment was to expedite the process, with her office cutting the

red tape Red tape is a concept employed to denounce excessive or redundant regulation and adherence to formal rules for creating unnecessary constraints on action and decision-making. The occurrence of red tape is usually associated with governments but a ...

that had deterred many producers. She was successful and, in 1979 alone, she estimated that film, television and commercials had brought US$500,000,000 to NYC's coffers. Among the feature films shot entirely or partly in NYC during Ms. Littlefield’s tenure were ''

Kramer vs. Kramer ''Kramer vs. Kramer'' is a 1979 American legal drama film written and directed by Robert Benton, based on Avery Corman's 1977 novel. The film stars Dustin Hoffman, Meryl Streep, Justin Henry and Jane Alexander. It tells the story of a couple ...

'', '' All That Jazz'', '' Fame'', ''

Prince of the City ''Prince of the City'' is a 1981 American epic neo-noir crime drama film directed by Sidney Lumet. It is based on the life of Robert Leuci, called ‘Daniel Ciello’ in the film, an officer of the New York Police Department who chooses, for id ...

'', ''

Fort Apache, The Bronx ''Fort Apache, The Bronx'' is a 1981 American crime drama film directed by Daniel Petrie. The film stars Paul Newman as Murphy, a hard-drinking, lonely veteran NYPD officer, and Ken Wahl as his young partner, Corelli, both of whom work in a cr ...

'', '' Annie'' and ''

The World According to Garp ''The World According to Garp'' is John Irving's fourth novel, about a man who is born out of wedlock to a feminist leader, then grows up to be a writer. Published in 1978, the book was a bestseller for several years. It was a finalist for the N ...

''.

Personal life

Born in New York City to Benjamin George and Mildred Christine (Herndon) Kassel, Nancy had a brother, William. The family lived for a time at 2017 Walton Avenue,

Bronx, New York 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 ...

. Her marriage to William Littlefield ended in divorce, although she kept her ex-husband's surname professionally. Her companion, David Martin, died in 2006.

Death

Nancy Littlefield died in

Delray Beach, Florida Delray Beach is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The population of Delray Beach as of April 1, 2020, was 66,846 according to the 2020 United States census, 2020 United States Census. Located in the Miami metropolitan area, De ...

, aged 77, from

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

. She was survived by a son, Joshua, and a daughter, Amy Norton, and five grandchildren.

External links

NY Times obituary
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Littlefield, Nancy 1929 births 2007 deaths American documentary filmmakers Television producers from New York City American women television producers Mass media people from the Bronx Deaths from cancer in Florida American women documentary filmmakers 20th-century American women 21st-century American women