Howard Christie (September 16, 1912 – March 25, 1992) was an American producer of films and television.

Early life and education

Christie was born in

Orinda, California Orinda is a city in Contra Costa County, California, United States. The city's population as of the 2020 census is estimated at 19,514 residents. History Orinda is located within four Mexican land grants: Rancho Laguna de los Palos Colorados ...

and graduated from

Oakland Technical High School Oakland Technical High School, known locally as Oakland Tech or simply "Tech", is a public high school in Oakland, California, United States, and is operated under the jurisdiction of the Oakland Unified School District. It is one of six compre ...

in 1929. He attended

UC Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of Californi ...

, where he was a center on the

Cal Bears The California Golden Bears are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Berkeley. Referred to in athletic competition as ''California'' or ''Cal'', the university fields 30 varsity athletic programs and various club te ...

football team and an All-American. He had planned to study medicine, but became interested in Hollywood after playing a small part in a 1935 anti-Communist comedy movie called ''

Fighting Youth ''Fighting Youth'' is a 1935 American drama film directed by Hamilton MacFadden and written by Henry Johnson, Hamilton MacFadden and newspaper reporter Florabel Muir. The film stars Charles Farrell, June Martel, Andy Devine, J. Farrell MacDonald ...

''.

Career

After his initial exposure to Hollywood and the film making industry, Christie developed a preference for the production side of the business. He began as an assistant production manager at Universal, then transitioned to assistant director, and director. Ultimately, he became a producer, a role which he filled until his retirement in 1970. After serving as associate producer on the 1945

Deanna Durbin Edna Mae Durbin (December 4, 1921 – April 17, 2013), known professionally as Deanna Durbin, was a Canadian-born actress and singer, who moved to the USA with her family in infancy. She appeared in musical films in the 1930s and 1940s. With t ...

film

Lady on a Train ''Lady on a Train'' is a 1945 American film noir crime film directed by Charles David and starring Deanna Durbin, Ralph Bellamy, and David Bruce. Based on a story by Leslie Charteris, the film is about a woman who witnesses a murder in a nea ...

, he mostly produced Westerns and comedies. He produced more than 40 films including ''

Against All Flags ''Against All Flags'' is a 1952 American pirate film directed by George Sherman and Douglas Sirk and starring Errol Flynn as Brian Hawke, Maureen O'Hara as Prudence "Spitfire" Stevens and Anthony Quinn as Roc Brasiliano. The film's plot is set in ...

'', ''

Away All Boats ''Away All Boats'' is a 1956 American war film directed by Joseph Pevney and starring Jeff Chandler, George Nader, Lex Barker, and Julie Adams. It was produced by Howard Christie from a screenplay by Ted Sherdeman based on the 1953 novel by Kenn ...

'', several

Ma and Pa Kettle Ma and Pa Kettle are comic film characters of the successful film series of the same name, produced by Universal Studios, in the late 1940s and 1950s. The hillbilly duo had their hands full with a ramshackle farm and a brood of rambunctious child ...

movies, and several

Abbott and Costello Abbott may refer to: People *Abbott (surname) *Abbott Handerson Thayer (1849–1921), American painter and naturalist * Abbott and Costello, famous American vaudeville act Places Argentina * Abbott, Buenos Aires United States * Abbott, Arkansas ...

movies including '' Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man'' (1951), ''

Abbott and Costello Go to Mars ''Abbott and Costello Go to Mars'' is a 1953 American science fiction comedy film starring the comedy team of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello and directed by Charles Lamont. It was produced by Howard Christie and made by Universal-International. D ...

'' (1953), ''

Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy ''Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy'' is a 1955 American horror comedy film directed by Charles Lamont and starring the comedy team of Abbott and Costello. It is the 28th and final Abbott and Costello film produced by Universal-International. ...

'' (1955), and ''

Abbott and Costello Meet the Keystone Kops ''Abbott and Costello Meet the Keystone Kops'' is a 1955 comedy film directed by Charles Lamont and starring the comedy team of Abbott and Costello. After the film was completed, Universal-International wanted to rename it ''Abbott and Costello ...

'' (1955). In the late 50s, as Universal reduced its production of western and comedy films, Christie moved into television. He became a vice president in

Universal Studios Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...

’ television division. He was responsible for the production of several popular Western-themed TV series, notably ''

Wagon Train ''Wagon Train'' is an American Western series that aired 8 seasons: first on the NBC television network (1957–1962), and then on ABC (1962–1965). ''Wagon Train'' debuted on September 18, 1957, and became number one in the Nielsen ratings. It ...

'' for the entirety of its 8-year, 280-episode life (1957-1965). He was involved in the production of several other TV westerns, including 30 episodes of '' Laredo'' (1965–67) and five episodes of '' The Virginian''. He retired in 1970 at age 58, and died in 1992 in

Oak View, California Oak View is an unincorporated community in Ventura County, California, United States. The community is located along the Ventura River in a narrow valley between the towns of Casitas Springs (south) and Mira Monte (north). Lake Casitas and the com ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Christie, Howard Film producers from California People from Orinda, California 1912 births 1992 deaths Television producers from California California Golden Bears football players