Robert Halmi
About
Biography
Filmography
Family & Companions
Bibliography
Biography
A larger-than-life showman who assembled nearly 200 film and TV productions in his first two decades in the business. Robert Halmi Sr is renowned for producing tasteful "prestige" productions for the small screen, including numerous acclaimed telefilms and landmark miniseries featuring some of Hollywood's most respected players. In the 1980s alone, he produced projects that teamed such famous names as Peter O'Toole and Jodie Foster ("Svengali," CBS 1983), James Cagney and Art Carney ("Terrible Joe Moran," CBS 1984), Kirk Douglas and Brock Peters ("The Secret," CBS 1992), George C Scott and Ali MacGraw ("China Rose," CBS 1983), and Scott, Don Ameche and Sylvia Sidney ("Pals," CBS 1987). His RHI Entertainment built relationships with many of the industry's leading writers, producers, agents, managers, advertisers, agencies and TV networks and when he sold the company to Hallmark in 1994, Halmi assumed the position of chair of Hallmark Entertainment.
The driving force behind many popular miniseries including "Lonesome Dove" (CBS, 1989), "Return to Lonesome Dove" (CBS, 1993) and "Scarlett" (CBS, 1994), Halmi has been hailed as one of the reigning kings of longform TV. Like many sovereigns concerned with succession, he groomed his son, Robert Jr., to take over the family business. At Hallmark, Senior headed operations while junior served as president and CEO.
Having joined the Hungarian Resistance in 1944 to fight the Nazis in his native land, Halmi was captured in Poland and sentenced to death. He was liberated by the invading Russians and subsequently became an agent for the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), in battle against Communist oppression. These activities eventually led to another arrest and death sentence which he again cheated when he was smuggled out of prison and into Austria. There he took up photography like his father (who had been official photographer to the Vatican as well as to Austria's Hapsburg family). After graduating from Budapest University, Halmi worked as a magazine photographer from 1946 to 1952 when he emigrated to the USA with little in his pockets.
Halmi landed on his feet in the New World where he became a leading writer-photographer for Life magazine from 1952 to 1962, specializing in exotic locales and dangerous assignments. He survived for three days alone on an Alaskan glacier before being rescued, and lived three months with a tribe of African pygmies. Halmi also spent three years driving race cars semi-professionally, flew balloons professionally, climbed various mountains and generally wandered the globe looking for adventure. He also established himself as an author, publishing 11 books on subjects ranging from African wildlife and world zoos to sportscars and "Photographing Women Simplified."
In 1962, Halmi began producing documentaries, specializing in outdoor subjects. He produced several episodes of "American Sportsman," the weekly series "Outdoors with Liberty Mutual" (which ran for 13 seasons until ending in 1979) and numerous specials. Nearing 50, Halmi segued into feature production in the 1970s, adapting a novel he wrote into the 1974 feature "Visit to a Chief's Son," a tale of Westerners on an African safari whose civilized hang-ups come into perspective in the wilds of the jungle. His next outing was the animated feature "Hugo the Hippo" (1975) and then a Carl Reiner-directed comedy "The One and Only" (1978). Feeling that TV allowed him greater control, Halmi shifted his focus to telefilms but also executive produced other theatrical features including Merchant Ivory's "Mr. & Mrs. Bridge" (1990) and "Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe" (1998).
On the small screen, Halmi has averaged two or more projects a season since the late 70s, producing some of the small screen's more memorable evenings. He oversaw such classy TV adaptations as the acclaimed medical drama "Nurse" (CBS, 1980), starring Michael Learned and Robert Reed, which was spun off into a short-lived series the following season. Halmi lured Walter Matthau to TV to play lawyer Harmon Cobb in a trio of popular TV-movies beginning with the Emmy-winning "The Incident" (CBS, 1990). He has displayed a penchant for biopics of other mythic personalities with such projects as "Barnum" (CBS, 1986) starring Burt Lancaster and "The Josephine Baker Story" (HBO, 1991). Halmi's subsequent high-profile TV work included an acclaimed production of "Gypsy" (CBS, 1993), starring Bette Midler, "Kidnapped" (The Family Channel, 1995), the Emmy-winning "Gulliver's Travels" (NBC, 1996), starring Ted Danson, several adaptation of Neil Simon plays ("Jake's Women," CBS 1996; "The Sunshine Boys," CBS 1997), "Moby Dick" (USA Network, 1998) and "Merlin" (NBC, 1998). As he achieved more success, the budgets climbed higher, the casts became more stellar and the special effects became more spectacular. Both "Noah's Ark" (NBC, 1999) and "Cleopatra" (ABC, 1999) each reportedly cost $30 million with much of the money going to creating their impressive on-screen look. Halmi continued to raise the bar in terms of cost and quality with such projects as "The 10th Kingdom" (NBC, 2000), "Don Quixote" (TNT, 2000) and the Emmy-nominated "Arabian Knights" (ABC, 2000).
Filmography
Writer (Feature Film)
Producer (Feature Film)
Misc. Crew (Feature Film)
Cast (Special)
Producer (Special)
Misc. Crew (Special)
Producer (TV Mini-Series)
Life Events
1944
Joined the Hungarian Resistance to fight the Nazis in his native land
1947
Sentenced to death by the Communists for spying
1950
Emigrated to the USA, reportedly with only $5 in his pocket
1952
Worked as a photojournalist for Life magazine
1973
Turned to producing full-time as he neared 50 years of age (date approximate)
1974
Feature debut as producer, "Visit to a Chief's Son"; screenplay based on his novel
1979
TV-movie debut as producer, "My Old Man" (CBS)
1980
First TV-movie with own production company, "A Private Battle" (CBS)
1984
Produced the CBS movie "Terrible Joe Moran", starring James Cagney
1984
Was producer of the Emmy-nominated children's program "The Night They Saved Christmas" (ABC)
1986
Debut as TV miniseries producer, "Spearfield's Daughter" (syndicated)
1987
Executive produced the CBS adaptation of the play "Pack of Lies"
1990
Was the executive producer of the Merchant Ivory production "Mr. & Mrs. Bridge"
1990
Won first Emmy Award for the well-received TV-movie "AT&T Presents The Incident" (CBS), starring Walter Matthau
1991
Executive produced the acclaimed, Emmy-nominated HBO biopic "The Josephine Baker Story"
1992
RHI Entertainment, Inc. began trading on the American Stock Exchange
1993
Served as executive producer of the CBS remake of "Gypsy", starring Bette Midler
1994
Sold RHI Entertainment, Inc. to Hallmark
1994
Became Chairman of the Board of Hallmark Entertainment
1994
Executive produced the sequel "Incident in a Small Town", again starring Walter Matthau
1995
For ABC, executive produced the small screen remake of the musical "Bye Bye Birdie"
1996
Executive produced the acclaimed NBC miniseries adaptation of "Gulliver's Travels"; won Emmy Award
1996
Was executive producer of TV remake of "In Cold Blood" (CBS), received Emmy nomination
1997
Picked up an Emmy nod for Outstanding Miniseries for "The Odyssey" (NBC)
1998
Served as executive producer of the USA miniseries "Moby Dick", starring Patrick Stewart, and the NBC miniseries "Merlin"; earned Emmy nominations for both
1998
Executive produced the TV remake of "Rear Window", starring Christopher Reeve
1999
Served as executive producer of "Noah's Ark", reputedly one of the most expensive TV projects ever
1999
Executive produced "Cleopatra", a two-part ABC dramatization of the life of the Egyptian queen
2000
Reteamed with Patrick Stewart for the TNT adaptation of Dickens' "A Christmas Carol", with Stewart as Scrooge
2000
Served as executive producer of "Don Quixote" (TNT), the Emmy-nominated "Arabian Knights" (ABC) and "Jason and the Argonauts" (NBC)
2002
Executive produced "Snow White: The Fairest of Them All" (ABC) and "Prince Charming" (TNT)
Family
Companions
