Samuel Goldwyn Jr.
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Biography
Son of legendary independent Hollywood producer Samuel Goldwyn and a respected independent producer and distributor in his own right, Samuel Goldwyn Jr. began his career in England with the J. Arthur Rank Organization as a writer and associate producer after World War II. Recalled to Army service during the Korean War, he produced the award-winning documentary "Alliance for Peace" (1952) before forming Formosa Productions in 1955 and producing such films as "Man Without a Gun" (1955), "Proud Rebel" (1956) and "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" (1960). In 1961, he made his directorial debut with the college youth film, "The Young Lovers" (1964). During the 1970s, he produced the Chester Himes caper films "Cotton Comes to Harlem" (1970) and "Come Back, Charleston Blue" (1972). In 1979, Goldwyn set out the production and distribution shingle The Samuel Goldwyn Company, producing highly regarded indie films like Amy Jones' romantic comedy "Mystic Pizza" (1988) and the Bette Midler drama "Stella" (1990). The company also distributed award-winning art house fare such as Bill Forsyth's "Gregory's Girl" (1981), Alex Cox's "Sid and Nancy" (1986), Stephen Frears' "Prick Up Your Ears" (1987), Robert Townsend's "Hollywood Shuffle" (1987), and Kenneth Branagh's "Henry V" (1989). As the independent film scene in America heated up, Goldwyn distributed Charles Burnett's "To Sleep With Anger," David Lynch's "Wild at Heart," and Luc Besson's "La Femme Nikita" in 1990, followed by Matty Rich's "Straight Out of Brooklyn," John Sayles' "City of Hope" and Claude Chabrol's "Madame Bovary" the following year. Goldwyn subsequently enjoyed considerable success with Branagh's production of "Much Ado About Nothing" (1993) and Ang Lee's charming low-budget comedy "The Wedding Banquet" (1993). Moving back into production, Goldwyn produced the Whitney Houston/Denzel Washington romantic fantasy "The Preacher's Wife" (1996) and the Latin-themed romantic comedy "Tortilla Soup" (2001), based on Lee's "The Wedding Banquet." His biggest success came with the blockbuster "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World" (2003), which won six Oscars including Best Picture. A decade later, Goldwyn's final production credit came with Ben Stiller's big-budget expansion of the classic James Thurber story "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" (2013). Samuel Goldwyn Jr. died on January 9, 2015 in Los Angeles. He was 88 years old.
Filmography
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Life Events
1944
Served with the US Army
1948
Returned to USA
1955
Founded Formosa Productions Inc.
1955
Produced first feature film, "Man Without a Gun"
1964
Directed first feature, "The Young Lovers"
1979
Formed The Samuel Goldwyn Company; served as chairman and CEO
1983
First film produced by the Samuel Goldwyn Company, "The Golden Seal"
1991
The privately-owned Samuel Goldwyn Company went public after completing a merger with Heritage Entertainment Inc. (December), renamed Samuel Goldwyn Entertainment
1997
Filed lawsuit against MGM and Metromedia when MGM announced plans to launch Goldwyn Films
1997
Samuel Goldwyn Entertainment sold to MGM by Metromedia; Goldwyn attempted to relaunch company
1999
Settled lawsuit with MGM over rights to use the name 'Goldwyn'; renamed company G2 Films
2003
Produced "Master and Commander: The Far Side Of the World" which starred Russell Crowe; received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Picture
2013
Produced "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty"
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