M J Frankovich

Diagnoses

Personal

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Family

American actor and movie producer, he was the adopted son of comedian Joe E. Brown. An athlete as a young man, he played quarterback on the football team for the University of California at Los Angeles where he contributed to a record setting 93-yeard touchdown. He played professional baseball with the Hollywood All-Stars for a short while and entered the film industry as a technical adviser on sports films. He acted in minor film roles from 1935 to 1947 when he produced his first film ("Jesse James Rides Again"). He had already begun producing--in the late 1930s he wasproducer at Republic Pictures. During WWII, he served as a pilot in the Army Air Corps in the Far East and Europe. After the war, he began producing films in Europe and impressed Hollywood with his ability to attract stars to travel to countries in post-war ruins to make independent films. By 1955, he was managing director of Columbia Pictures in England. With a few years, he was in charge of all British and European production for the company. In 1964 he moved back to Los Angeles where he worked for Columbia as vice president in charge of produiction. Four years later he was an independent producer for Columbia. He received a Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for his work on the U.C.L.A. Foundation, the St. John's Hospital and on the Los Angeles Coliseum Commission. He never acted again, preferring the business side of the industry. Some of his productions include "Cactus Flower," "the Shootist" and "Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice." He married Binnie Barnes in 1940. They adopted three children. One son, Mike, is a screenwriter and Peter is a producer. Frankovich died at age 82 on January 1, 1992 in Los Angeles. He had been suffering from Alzheimer's disease and pneumonia. Link to Wikipedia biography