Frederick Rollin Feitshans III (born 17 January 1937), known as Buzz Feitshans, is an American film producer best known for his work in the action field and his collaborations with John Milius and

Carolco Pictures Carolco Pictures, Inc. was an American independent film studio that existed from 1976 to 1995, founded by Mario Kassar and Andrew G. Vajna. Kassar and Vajna ran Carolco together until 1989, when Vajna left to form Cinergi Pictures. Carolco h ...

Biography

Feitshans graduated from the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

in 1962 with a degree in education, then went to work for the

American Broadcasting Company The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) is an American commercial broadcast television network. It is the flagship property of the ABC Entertainment Group division of The Walt Disney Company. The network is headquartered in Burbank, Cali ...

as a film editor. In 1964, he joined

American International Pictures American International Pictures (AIP) is an American motion picture production label of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. In its original operating period, AIP was an independent film production and distribution company known for producing and releasing fi ...

as an editor and became head of the editorial department for ten years. In 1973, Feitshans made his debut as a producer with ''

Dillinger John Herbert Dillinger (June 22, 1903 – July 22, 1934) was an American gangster during the Great Depression in the United States, Great Depression. He led the Dillinger Gang, which was accused of robbing 24 banks and four police stations. Dill ...

'', a film written and directed by John Milius. Milius and Feitshans formed A-Team Productions that same year and produced ''

Big Wednesday ''Big Wednesday'' is a 1978 American coming of age film directed by John Milius. Written by Milius and Dennis Aaberg, it is loosely based on their own experiences at Malibu, California. The picture stars Jan-Michael Vincent, William Katt, and Gary ...

'' (1978), ''

1941 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January–August – 10,072 men, women and children with mental and physical disabilities are asphyxiated with carbon monoxide in a gas chamber, at Hadamar Eu ...

'' (1979) and ''

Hardcore Hardcore, hard core or hard-core may refer to: Arts and media Film * ''Hardcore'' (1977 film), a British comedy film * ''Hardcore'' (1979 film), an American crime drama film starring George C Scott * ''Hardcore'' (2001 film), a British documen ...

'' (1979). A-Team Productions dissolved, but Feitshans continued to act as Milius' producer on ''

Conan the Barbarian Conan the Barbarian (also known as Conan the Cimmerian) is a fictional sword and sorcery hero who originated in pulp magazines and has since been adapted to books, comics, films (including '' Conan the Barbarian'' and '' Conan the Destroyer'') ...

'' (1982), '' Uncommon Valor'' (1983), and ''

Red Dawn ''Red Dawn'' is a 1984 American action drama film directed by John Milius with a screenplay by Milius and Kevin Reynolds. The film depicts a fictional World War III centering on a land invasion of the continental United States by an alliance ...

'' (1984). Feitshans produced '' First Blood'' in 1982, and also its first two sequels. The films were made by executive producers

Mario Kassar Mario F. Kassar ( ar, ماريو قصار; born October 10, 1951) is a Lebanese film producer and industry executive who produced the first three films of the ''Rambo'' series, '' Terminator 2: Judgment Day'', '' Total Recall'', ''The Doors, Ange ...

and

Andrew Vajna Andrew G. Vajna (born András György Vajna; 1 August 1944 – 20 January 2019) was a Hungarians, Hungarian film producer whose films include the first three entries in the ''Rambo (film series), Rambo'' series, ''Total Recall (1990 film), Tota ...

of Carolco Pictures, whom Feitshans frequently worked with. In 1988, he became executive vice president of production and a member of the board of directors for Carolco Pictures. Feitshans joined

Cinergi Productions Cinergi Pictures Inc. was an American independent film production company founded by Andrew G. Vajna in 1989, after he had sold his interest in his first production company, Carolco International Pictures. The company had a number of major hit ...

in 1992, serving as executive producer for ''

Medicine Man A medicine man or medicine woman is a traditional healer and spiritual leader who serves a community of Indigenous people of the Americas. Individual cultures have their own names, in their respective languages, for spiritual healers and cerem ...

'' (1992), '' Tombstone'' (1993), ''

Renaissance Man A polymath ( el, πολυμαθής, , "having learned much"; la, homo universalis, "universal human") is an individual whose knowledge spans a substantial number of subjects, known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific pro ...

'' (1994), ''

Color of Night ''Color of Night'' is a 1994 American erotic mystery thriller film produced by Cinergi Pictures and released in the United States by Buena Vista Pictures (through its Hollywood Pictures label). Directed by Richard Rush, the film stars Bruce Wil ...

'' (1994), ''

Die Hard with a Vengeance ''Die Hard with a Vengeance'' is a 1995 American action thriller film directed by John McTiernan (who directed the first installment). It was written by Jonathan Hensleigh, based on the screenplay ''Simon Says'' by Hensleigh and on the chara ...

'' (1995), ''

Judge Dredd Judge Joseph Dredd is a fictional character created by writer John Wagner and artist Carlos Ezquerra. He first appeared in the second issue of '' 2000 AD'' (1977), which is a British weekly anthology comic. He is the magazine's longest-running ...

'' (1995), ''

The Scarlet Letter ''The Scarlet Letter: A Romance'' is a work of historical fiction by American author Nathaniel Hawthorne, published in 1850. Set in the Puritan Massachusetts Bay Colony during the years 1642 to 1649, the novel tells the story of Hester Prynne, ...

'' (1995), ''

Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

'' (1995), ''

Evita Evita may refer to: Arts * Evita (1996 film), ''Evita'' (1996 film), a 1996 American musical drama film based on the 1976 concept album of the same name * Evita (2008 film), ''Evita'' (2008 film), a documentary about Eva Péron * Evita (album), ''E ...

'' (1996), ''

Shadow Conspiracy ''Shadow Conspiracy'' is a 1997 American political thriller film starring Charlie Sheen, Donald Sutherland, Linda Hamilton, and Sam Waterston. It was the final film directed by George P. Cosmatos, who died in 2005. The film was poorly received by ...

'' (1997), and '' An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn'' (1997). He retired from film production in 1997.

Personal life

Feitshans is the son of Lotus Grant Feitshans (1909–2007) and film editor Fred R. Feitshans Jr. (1909–1987). He is the grandson of Sennett Bathing Beauty

Ora Carew Ora Carew (born Ora Whytock; April 19, 1891 – October 26, 1955), was an American silent film actress. She starred in several films between 1915 and 1925. She was known as one of the Sennett Bathing Beauties. Early life Ora Whytock was born i ...

and Harry E. Grant on his mother's side and tennis player Frederick Rollin Feitshans and Celia Traber Feitshans on his father's. He married Charlotte Wells (divorced 1978) and

Raffaella De Laurentiis Raffaella De Laurentiis (born 28 June 1952) is an Italian film producer. Films that she has produced include ''Conan the Barbarian'', '' Conan the Destroyer'', '' Dune'', '' Prancer'', '' Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story'', all films in the ''Dragonhe ...

. He is the father of four, including cinematographer Fred "Buzz" Feitshans IV (born 1959).

Select credits

He was a producer in all films unless otherwise noted.

Film

;As cinematographer ;Camera and electrical department ;Editorial department ;Miscellaneous crew ;As editor

Unmade projects

*''Amanda'' (1996) *''

Broadway Brawler ''Broadway Brawler'' is an unfinished romantic comedy film that was to star Bruce Willis and Maura Tierney and be directed by Lee Grant. It was produced by Willis and Joseph Feury for Cinergi Pictures, and was to have been distributed by The Walt ...

'' *''Crusade'' *''Smoke and Mirrors''

Television

;As cinematographer ;Camera and electrical department

References

External links

*
Buzz Feitshans Papers
at Margaret Herrick Library {{DEFAULTSORT:Feitshans, Buzz 1937 births Living people Film producers from California USC Rossier School of Education alumni People from Los Angeles