Mitchell John "M. J." Frankovich (September 29, 1909 – January 1, 1992), best known as Mike Frankovich, was an American football player turned film actor and producer. Frankovich was the adopted son of actor

Joe E. Brown Joseph Evans Brown (July 28, 1891 – July 6, 1973) was an American actor and comedian, remembered for his friendly screen persona, comic timing, and enormous elastic-mouth smile. He was one of the most popular American comedians in the 19 ...

and his wife, Kathryn.

Biography

Frankovich attended Belmont High School in

Downtown Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) contains the central business district of Los Angeles. In addition, it contains a diverse residential area of some 85,000 people, and covers . A 2013 study found that the district is home to over 500,000 jobs. It is ...

. He played football for

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

and was inducted into UCLA Athletic Hall of Fame in 1986. Frankovich served in the Army Air Corps during World War II. After the war, he moved to Europe with his wife. He became managing director of Columbia Pictures in Britain in 1955. Frankovich moved back to Los Angeles in 1963. In 1968 he gave up his position as vice president and became an independent producer at Columbia. He served as president of the

Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (also known as the L.A. Coliseum) is a multi-purpose stadium in the Exposition Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Conceived as a hallmark of civic pride, the Coliseum was commissioned in 1921 as a mem ...

Commission in the early 1980s, and helped to bring the

Los Angeles Raiders The Los Angeles Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Los Angeles from 1982 to 1994 before relocating back to Oakland, California, where the team played from its inaugural 1960 season to the 1981 season and then agai ...

football team and

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the secon ...

to Los Angeles. He received the Academy Awards'

Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award The Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award is awarded periodically by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) at the Governors Awards ceremonies for an individual's "outstanding contributions to humanitarian causes". Prior to 2009 and ...

in 1983.

Family

A devout Catholic, Frankovich married his first wife, Georgiana (or Georgianna) Feagans, on January 15, 1938. No details are available regarding that marriage or how or when it ended. Known descendants are his fourth cousins, Williamson Frankovich and Haley Frankovich. He married actress

Binnie Barnes Gertrude Maud Barnes (25 March 1903 – 27 July 1998), known professionally as Binnie Barnes, was an English actress whose career in films spanned from 1923 to 1973. Early life Barnes was born in Islington, London, the daughter of Rosa Enoy ...

in 1940. They remained married until his death. He produced some of her late movies, including her last movie in 1973, '' 40 Carats'', in which she portrayed

Liv Ullman Liv Johanne Ullmann (born 16 December 1938) is a Norwegian actress and film director. Recognised as one of the greatest European actresses of all time, Ullmann is known as the muse and frequent partner of filmmaker Ingmar Bergman. She acted in m ...

's mother.

Death

He died of pneumonia on New Year's Day, 1992.

Producer

Among his more than 30 productions of film and for television were: ''

Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice ''Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice'' is a 1969 American comedy-drama film directed by Paul Mazursky, written by Mazursky and Larry Tucker, who also produced the film, and starring Natalie Wood, Robert Culp, Elliott Gould, and Dyan Cannon. The origi ...

'' (1969), '' Cactus Flower'' (1969), ''

There's a Girl in My Soup '' There's a Girl in My Soup'' is a 1970 British romantic comedy film based on the stage play of the same name, directed by Roy Boulting and starring Peter Sellers and Goldie Hawn. The film was Sellers' last commercial success until '' Return ...

'' (1970), ''

Butterflies Are Free ''Butterflies Are Free'' is a 1972 American comedy-drama film based on the 1969 play by Leonard Gershe. The 1972 film was produced by M. J. Frankovich, released by Columbia Pictures, directed by Milton Katselas and adapted for the screen by Ger ...

'' (1972), '' The 42nd Annual Academy Awards'' (1970), and

John Wayne Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne and nicknamed The Duke or Duke Wayne, was an American actor who became a popular icon through his starring roles in films made during Hollywood's Gol ...

's last film, ''

The Shootist ''The Shootist'' is a 1976 American Western film directed by Don Siegel and based on Glendon Swarthout's 1975 novel of the same name.Swarthout, Glendon (1975). ''The Shootist'', New York, New York: Doubleday. It is John Wayne's final film ro ...

'' (1976).

Select filmography

* ''

Jesse James Rides Again ''Jesse James Rides Again'' is a 1947 American Republic Western film serial. Plot Gunfighter Jesse James is framed for a Missouri bank job and murder by a black-cowled outlaw gang, known as "The Black Raiders". Unable to clear his name, him a ...

'' (1947) * '' The Black Widow'' (1947) (serial) * ''

G-Men Never Forget ''G-Men Never Forget'' is a 1948 Republic movie serial. The serial was condensed into a feature film in 1966 and re-released under the title ''Code 645''. Plot Escaped criminal Victor Murkland (Roy Barcroft) kidnaps the police commissioner an ...

'' (1948) (serial) * ''

Dangers of the Canadian Mounted ''Dangers of the Canadian Mounted'' is a 1948 Northern Republic film serial. Plot A criminal gang discovers a Genghis Khan treasure ship on the Canada-Alaska border. However, the treasure itself is hidden on land. In their efforts to find the ...

'' (1948) (serial) * '' Fugitive Lady'' (1950) * ''

Decameron Nights ''Decameron Nights'' is a 1953 anthology Technicolor film based on three tales from ''The Decameron'' by Giovanni Boccaccio, specifically the ninth and tenth tales of the second day and the ninth tale of the third. It stars Joan Fontaine and, a ...

'' (1953) * '' Malaga'' (1954) * ''

Footsteps in the Fog ''Footsteps in the Fog'' is a 1955 British Technicolor film noir crime film starring Stewart Granger and Jean Simmons, with a screenplay co-written by Lenore Coffee and Dorothy Davenport, and released by Columbia Pictures. The film is bas ...

'' (1955) * ''

Joe MacBeth ''Joe MacBeth'' is a 1955 British–American crime drama, directed by Ken Hughes and starring Paul Douglas, Ruth Roman and Bonar Colleano. It is a modern retelling of Shakespeare's ''Macbeth'', set in a 1930s American criminal underworld. T ...

'' (1955) * '' Spin a Dark Web'' (1956) aka ''Soho Incident'' * ''

The War Lover ''The War Lover'' is a 1962 British war film directed by Philip Leacock and written by Howard Koch loosely based on the 1959 novel by John Hersey, altering the names of characters and events but retaining its basic framework. It stars Steve Mc ...

'' (1962) * ''

'' (1969) * ''

Marooned Marooned may refer to: * Marooning Marooning is the intentional act of abandoning someone in an uninhabited area, such as a desert island, or more generally (usually in passive voice) to be marooned is to be in a place from which one cannot escape ...

'' (1969) * '' Cactus Flower'' (1969) * ''

The Looking Glass War ''The Looking Glass War'' is a 1965 spy novel by John le Carré. Written in response to the positive public reaction to his previous novel, ''The Spy Who Came in from the Cold'', the book explores the unglamorous nature of espionage and the da ...

'' (1970) * '' The 42nd Annual Academy Awards'' (1970) (TV special) * ''

'' (1970) * '' Doctors' Wives'' (1971) * '' The Love Machine'' (1971) * '' $'' (1971) * '' Stand Up and Be Counted'' (1972) * ''

'' (1972) * '' 40 Carats'' (1973) * ''

'' (1973) (TV series) * ''

Report to the Commissioner ''Report to the Commissioner'' is a 1975 American crime drama film based on James Mills' 1972 novel. It involves a rookie cop ( Michael Moriarty) in the New York City Police Department who is assigned a special missing person case, which in fac ...

'' (1975) * '' From Noon Till Three'' (1976) * ''

State Fair A state fair is an annual competitive and recreational gathering of a U.S. state's population, usually held in late summer or early fall. It is a larger version of a county fair, often including only exhibits or competitors that have won in th ...

'' (1976) * ''

'' (1976) * '' Ziegfeld: The Man and His Women'' (1978) * ''All Star Party for Lucille Ball'' (1984) * ''All-Star Party for Clint Eastwood'' (1986) (TV Special)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Frankovich, Mike 1909 births 1992 deaths People from Bisbee, Arizona Sportspeople from Arizona Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale) Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award winners 20th-century American businesspeople Deaths from pneumonia in California Deaths from Alzheimer's disease Neurological disease deaths in California Catholics from Arizona Film producers from Arizona United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II