Leonard Goldstein (May 28, 1903 – July 23, 1954) was an American

film producer A film producer is a person who oversees film production. Either employed by a production company or working independently, producers plan and coordinate various aspects of film production, such as selecting the script, coordinating writing, di ...

who produced mainly low-budget films, making multiple films at a time.Vogel p.51

Biography

He started as a theatre booking agent in Los Angeles and moved to New York in 1928. He joined

Consolidated Film Industries Consolidated Film Industries was a film laboratory and film processing company and was one of the leading film laboratories in the Los Angeles area for many decades. CFI processed negatives and made prints for motion pictures and television. The ...

from 1933 to 1936 before going to work for producer

George Hirliman George Hirliman (1901–1952) was a film producer. Biography Hirliman was born September 8, 1901, in Fort Lee, New Jersey. He married Eleanor Hunt, an actress. The couple adopted Georgelle Hirliman in 1936, and later gave birth to daughter ...

. His first film credit was as associate producer on ''

Daniel Boone Daniel Boone (September 26, 1820) was an American pioneer and frontiersman whose exploits made him one of the first folk heroes of the United States. He became famous for his exploration and settlement of Kentucky, which was then beyond the we ...

'' for

RKO Pictures RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orphe ...

and his first as producer was '' Black Bart'' in 1948. In 1946, he moved to

International Pictures International Pictures was an American film production company that existed in the 1940s. It merged with Universal Pictures to become Universal-International on October 1, 1946. History The company was formed in 1944. It was headed up by Leo Sp ...

which later merged with

Universal Pictures 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 ...

. He produced the first six films in the successful

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 ...

film series, although

Ma and Pa Kettle at Waikiki ''Ma and Pa Kettle at Waikiki'' is a 1955 American comedy film directed by Lee Sholem. It is the seventh installment of Universal-International's ''Ma and Pa Kettle'' series starring Marjorie Main and Percy Kilbride in his final starring role. Pl ...

made in 1952 was the seventh to be released in 1955 after he had died. He also produced several of the

Francis the Talking Mule Francis the Talking Mule was a mule character who gained popularity during the 1950s as the star of seven popular Universal-International film comedies. The character originated in the 1946 novel ''Francis'' by former U.S. Army Captain David S ...

films. He spent nearly five years at Universal-International before moving to

20th-Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Disn ...

in 1952 where he formed Panoramic Pictures in 1953. He had just signed a deal with

United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the studi ...

to produce 10 films before he died.

Death

He died from a

cerebral haemorrhage Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), also known as cerebral bleed, intraparenchymal bleed, and hemorrhagic stroke, or haemorrhagic stroke, is a sudden bleeding into the tissues of the brain, into its ventricles, or into both. It is one kind of bleed ...

on July 23, 1954.

Selected filmography

* ''

'' (1936) * '' Black Bart'' (1948) * ''

Larceny Larceny is a crime involving the unlawful taking or theft of the personal property of another person or business. It was an offence under the common law of England and became an offence in jurisdictions which incorporated the common law of Engla ...

'' (1948) * ''

Calamity Jane and Sam Bass ''Calamity Jane and Sam Bass'' is a 1949 American Western film directed by George Sherman and starring Yvonne de Carlo, Howard Duff and Dorothy Hart. Plot Sheriff Will Egan doesn't want any gamblers in Denton, Texas and is suspicious when st ...

'' (1949) * ''

I Was a Shoplifter ''I Was a Shoplifter'' is a 1950 American film noir crime film directed by Charles Lamont and starring Scott Brady and Mona Freeman. Plot A shoplifter, Faye Burton, is being watched by Herb Klaxon, a security guard at a Los Angeles department sto ...

'' (1950) * ''

Ma and Pa Kettle Go to Town ''Ma and Pa Kettle Go to Town'' is a 1950 American comedy film directed by Charles Lamont. It is the second installment of Universal Pictures, Universal-International's ''Ma and Pa Kettle'' series starring Marjorie Main and Percy Kilbride. Plot A ...

'' (1950) * '' Saddle Tramp'' (1950) * ''

The Sleeping City ''The Sleeping City'' is a 1950 American film noir crime film in semidocumentary style that was set in and filmed at New York's Bellevue Hospital. Directed by George Sherman, it stars Richard Conte and Coleen Gray. The film is notable for its pho ...

'' (1950) * ''

Francis Goes to the Races ''Francis Goes to the Races'' is a 1951 American black-and-white comedy film from Universal-International, produced by Leonard Goldstein, directed by Arthur Lubin, that stars Donald O'Connor, Piper Laurie, and Cecil Kellaway. The distinctive voice ...

'' (1951) * ''

Katie Did It ''Katie Did It'' is a 1951 American romantic comedy film directed by Frederick De Cordova and starring Ann Blyth, Mark Stevens and Cecil Kellaway.Stephens p.63 A small town girl falls in love with a big city artist, but mistakenly believes he al ...

'' (1951) * ''

Ma and Pa Kettle Back on the Farm ''Ma and Pa Kettle Back on the Farm'' is a 1951 American comedy film directed by Edward Sedgwick. It is the third installment of Universal-International's ''Ma and Pa Kettle'' series starring Marjorie Main and Percy Kilbride. It was also the last ...

'' (1951) * ''

Flame of Araby ''Flame of Araby'' (a.k.a. ''Flame of the Desert'') is a 1951 American Technicolor adventure film directed by Charles Lamont starring Maureen O'Hara and Jeff Chandler. British film star Maxwell Reed made his American film debut in the picture. Lo ...

'' (1951) * ''

Francis Goes to West Point ''Francis Goes to West Point'' is a 1952 American black-and-white comedy film from Universal-International, produced by Leonard Goldstein, directed by Arthur Lubin, and starring Donald O'Connor, Lori Nelson, Alice Kelley, and Gregg Palmer. The dis ...

'' (1952) * ''

Just Across the Street ''Just Across the Street'' is a 1952 American comedy film directed by Joseph Pevney and starring Ann Sheridan and John Lund.Bubbeo p.206 Plot Henrietta applies for a job as a social secretary for the wealthy Medford family, and while at their ...

'' (1952) * ''

Ma and Pa Kettle at the Fair ''Ma and Pa Kettle at the Fair'' is a 1952 American comedy film directed by Charles Barton. It is the fourth installment of Universal-International's ''Ma and Pa Kettle'' series starring Marjorie Main and Percy Kilbride. Plot Ma and Pa Kettle ...

'' (1952) * ''

Sally and Saint Anne ''Sally and Saint Anne'' is a 1952 American comedy film directed by Rudolph Maté and starring Ann Blyth, Edmund Gwenn and John McIntire. Plot Sally O’Moyne is a schoolgirl who lives with three generations of an eccentric Irish family, includin ...

'' (1952) * '' Steel Town'' (1952) * ''

Francis Covers the Big Town ''Francis Covers the Big Town'' is a 1953 American black-and-white comedy film from Universal-International, produced by Leonard Goldstein, directed by Arthur Lubin, that stars Donald O'Connor, Yvette Duguay, and Gene Lockhart. The distinctive voi ...

'' (1953) * ''

It Happens Every Thursday ''It Happens Every Thursday'' is a 1953 American comedy film directed by Joseph Pevney and starring Loretta Young, John Forsythe, and Frank McHugh, loosely based on the 1951 autobiographical book of the same title by Jane S. McIlvaine. It was Lo ...

'' (1953) * '' The Kid from Left Field'' (1953) * ''

Ma and Pa Kettle on Vacation ''Ma and Pa Kettle on Vacation'' is a 1953 American comedy film directed by Charles Lamont. It is the sixth installment of Universal-International's ''Ma and Pa Kettle'' series starring Marjorie Main and Percy Kilbride. Plot In May 1953, Ma and ...

'' (1953) * ''

Mister Scoutmaster ''Mister Scoutmaster'' is a 1953 comedy film about Boy Scouts, starring Clifton Webb. It is based on the book ''Be Prepared'' by Keith Monroe, writing under the pseudonym Rice E. Cochran. Plot An arrogant, aloof television personality gets mor ...

'' (1953) * ''

Vicki Vicky, Vicko, Vick, Vickie or Vicki is a feminine given name, often a hypocorism of Victoria. The feminine name Vicky in Greece comes from the name Vasiliki. Women * Family nickname of Victoria, Princess Royal (1840–1901), wife of German ...

'' (1953) * '' The Rocket Man'' (1954) * ''

The Gambler from Natchez ''The Gambler from Natchez'' is a 1954 American Western film directed by Henry Levin and starring Dale Robertson and Debra Paget. Plot After four years away from New Orleans, Vance Colby is summoned by his gambler father. On a riverboat, a gam ...

'' (1954) * ''

'' (1955) * ''

Day of the Nightmare ''Day of the Nightmare'' is a 1965 American horror film directed by John A. Bushelman and starring John Ireland, John Hart, and Elena Verdugo. The film is also known as ''Don't Scream, Doris Mays!''. The film was re-released in 1969, 1993 on VHS, ...

'' (1965)

References

Bibliography

* Vogel, Michelle. ''Marjorie Main: The Life and Films of Hollywood's "Ma Kettle"''. McFarland, 2011.

External links

* 1903 births 1954 deaths American film producers 20th-century American businesspeople {{US-film-producer-stub