Martin Nelson Ransohoff (July 7, 1927 – December 13, 2017) was an American film and television producer, and member of the Ransohoff family.

Early life and education

Ransohoff was born on July 7, 1927 in

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

Broadcasting Magazine: "Our Respects To...Martin Ransohoff"
November 16, 1959, p.121 the son of Babette (Strauss) and Arthur Ransohoff. His mother was a former Republican National Committeewoman. He had one sister Barbara Burnett (married to a former Washington & Jefferson College president

Howard J. Burnett Howard Jerome Burnett (October 14, 1929 – June 16, 2019) was a president of Washington & Jefferson College. Life and career Burnett, a native of Holyoke, Massachusetts, earned a B.A. degree in political science from Amherst College in 1952; ...

) and one brother Jack, a nuclear engineer. He attended

Wooster School Wooster School is a private, co-educational, college-preparatory school (grades 5 through 12) in Danbury, Connecticut. It is a member of the Connecticut Association of Independent Schools. Overview The Wooster School motto is ''Ex Quoque Potestate ...

Danbury, Connecticut Danbury is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, located approximately northeast of New York City. Danbury's population as of 2022 was 87,642. It is the seventh largest city in Connecticut. Danbury is nicknamed the "Hat City ...

and graduated with a B.A. in History and English from

Colgate University Colgate University is a private liberal arts college in Hamilton, New York. The college was founded in 1819 as the Baptist Education Society of the State of New York and operated under that name until 1823, when it was renamed Hamilton Theologi ...

in 1948.

Career

After school he worked at several jobs (peddling housewares door-to-door, selling autos, and working at an advertising agency), before joining Caravel Films (later Transfilm-Caravel) in 1950 in New York City where he worked as a salesman, writer, and producer.

Filmways

In 1952, he co-founded the film production company

Filmways, Inc. Filmways, Inc. (also known as Filmways Pictures and Filmways Television) was a television and film production company founded by United States, American film executive Martin Ransohoff and Edwin Kasper in 1952. It is probably best remembered as t ...

with Edwin Kasper (Kasper left the firm in 1957). The firm listed on the

New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed c ...

in 1959. Filmways started making TV commercials, moved into documentaries then sitcoms; by 1963 Filmways were making $13 million a year. ''

Mister Ed ''Mister Ed'' is an American television sitcom produced by Filmways that aired in syndication from January 5 to July 2, 1961, and then on CBS from October 1, 1961, to February 6, 1966. The show's title character is a talking horse which orig ...

'' and ''

The Beverly Hillbillies ''The Beverly Hillbillies'' is an American television sitcom that was broadcast on CBS from 1962 to 1971. It had an ensemble cast featuring Buddy Ebsen, Irene Ryan, Donna Douglas, and Max Baer Jr. as the Clampetts, a poor, backwoods family from ...

'' brought Ransohoff his first successes in 1960 and 1962. Thereafter he turned his attention to films.

MGM

Ransohoff's first film as producer was '' Boys' Night Out'' (1962) starring

James Garner James Garner (born James Scott Bumgarner; April 7, 1928 – July 19, 2014) was an American actor. He played leading roles in more than 50 theatrical films, including '' The Great Escape'' (1963) with Steve McQueen; Paddy Chayefsky's ''The Ameri ...

and

Kim Novak Marilyn Pauline "Kim" Novak (born February 13, 1933) is an American retired film and television actress and painter. Novak began her career in 1954 after signing with Columbia Pictures and quickly became one of Hollywood's top box office stars, ...

and distributed by

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...

. Garner was also in Ransohoff's next two films, both of which were directed by

Arthur Hiller Arthur Hiller, (November 22, 1923 – August 17, 2016) was a Canadian-American television and film director with over 33 films to his credit during a 50-year career. He began his career directing television in Canada and later in the U.S. By t ...

: ''

The Wheeler Dealers ''The Wheeler Dealers'' (a.k.a. ''Separate Beds'' in the UK) is a 1963 American romantic comedy film produced by Martin Ransohoff, directed by Arthur Hiller and starring James Garner and Lee Remick. The script was written by George Goodman and I ...

'' (1963) and ''

The Americanization of Emily ''The Americanization of Emily'' is a 1964 British-American black-and-white romantic black comedy war film written by Paddy Chayefsky, produced by Martin Ransohoff, directed by Arthur Hiller and starring James Garner, Julie Andrews, Melvyn Dougl ...

'' (1964); the latter, based on a script by

Paddy Chayefsky Sidney Aaron "Paddy" Chayefsky (January 29, 1923 – August 1, 1981) was an American playwright, screenwriter and novelist. He is the only person to have won three solo Academy Awards for writing both adapted and original screenplays. He was ...

, was particularly praised. Ransohoff found commercial success with ''

The Sandpiper ''The Sandpiper'' is a 1965 American drama film directed by Vincente Minnelli and starring Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor. Plot Laura Reynolds is a free-spirited, unwed single mother living with her young son Danny in an isolated beach house ...

'' (1965) based on a story by the producer and starring

Richard Burton Richard Burton (; born Richard Walter Jenkins Jr.; 10 November 1925 – 5 August 1984) was a Welsh actor. Noted for his baritone voice, Burton established himself as a formidable Shakespearean actor in the 1950s, and he gave a memorable pe ...

and

Elizabeth Taylor Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor (February 27, 1932 – March 23, 2011) was a British-American actress. She began her career as a child actress in the early 1940s and was one of the most popular stars of classical Hollywood cinema in the 1950s. ...

. He produced ''

The Cincinnati Kid ''The Cincinnati Kid'' is a 1965 American drama film directed by Norman Jewison. It tells the story of Eric "The Kid" Stoner, a young Depression-era poker player, as he seeks to establish his reputation as the best. This quest leads him to chal ...

'' (1965), firing

Sam Peckinpah David Samuel Peckinpah (; February 21, 1925 – December 28, 1984) was an American film director and screenwriter. His 1969 Western epic ''The Wild Bunch'' received an Academy Award nomination and was ranked No. 80 on the American Film Institute ...

as director during filming and replacing him with

Norman Jewison Norman Frederick Jewison (born July 21, 1926) is a retired Canadian film and television director, producer, and founder of the Canadian Film Centre. He has directed numerous feature films and has been nominated for the Academy Award for Best D ...

; the movie received strong reviews. Less popular was ''

The Loved One ''The Loved One: An Anglo-American Tragedy'' (1948) is a short satirical novel by British novelist Evelyn Waugh about the funeral business in Los Angeles, the British expatriate community in Hollywood, and the film industry. Conception ''The ...

'' (1965). ''

Eye of the Devil ''Eye of the Devil,'' also known as ''13,'' is a 1966 British Mystery film, mystery horror film directed by J. Lee Thompson and starring Deborah Kerr, David Niven, Donald Pleasence, Sharon Tate and David Hemmings. The film is set in rural France ...

'' (1967) was a thriller originally starring

David Niven James David Graham Niven (; 1 March 1910 – 29 July 1983) was a British actor, soldier, memoirist, and novelist. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance as Major Pollock in ''Separate Tables'' (1958). Niven's other roles ...

and a young actor Ransohoff put under personal contract,

Sharon Tate Sharon Marie Tate Polanski (January 24, 1943 – August 9, 1969) was an American actress and model. During the 1960s, she played small television roles before appearing in films and was regularly featured in fashion magazines as a model and cover ...

. Novak was injured during filming and was replaced by

Deborah Kerr Deborah Jane Trimmer CBE (30 September 192116 October 2007), known professionally as Deborah Kerr (), was a British actress. She was nominated six times for the Academy Award for Best Actress. During her international film career, Kerr won a G ...

. Tate was in Ransohoff's next films, ''

The Fearless Vampire Killers ''The Fearless Vampire Killers, or Pardon Me, But Your Teeth Are in My Neck'' (shortened to ''The Fearless Vampire Killers''; originally released in the United Kingdom as ''Dance of the Vampires'') is a 1967 British comedy horror film directed b ...

'' (1967) directed by

Roman Polanski Raymond Roman Thierry Polański , group=lower-alpha, name=note_a (né Liebling; 18 August 1933) is a French-Polish film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. He is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, two ...

whom she would marry (Ransohoff was executive producer), and ''

Don't Make Waves ''Don't Make Waves'' is a 1967 American sex comedy (with elements of the beach party genre) starring Tony Curtis, Claudia Cardinale, Dave Draper and Sharon Tate. Distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the film was directed by Alexander Mackendrick a ...

'' (1967). He executive produced ''

Our Mother's House ''Our Mother's House'' is a 1967 British drama thriller film directed by Jack Clayton. It nominally stars Dirk Bogarde (who only appears in the film's second half) and principally features a cast of seven juvenile actors, including Pamela Frankli ...

'' (1967) in England and produced ''

Ice Station Zebra ''Ice Station Zebra'' is a 1968 American espionage thriller film directed by John Sturges and starring Rock Hudson, Patrick McGoohan, Ernest Borgnine, and Jim Brown. The screenplay is by Alistair MacLean, Douglas Heyes, Harry Julian Fink, and W ...

'' (1968).

Post-MGM

Ransohoff then signed a deal with Columbia, who distributed his ''

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a comedy written by William Shakespeare 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One subplot involves a conflict amon ...

'' (1968), ''

Castle Keep ''Castle Keep'' is a 1969 American comedy-drama war film combining surrealism with tragic realism. It was directed by Sydney Pollack and starred Burt Lancaster, Patrick O'Neal, Jean-Pierre Aumont, Bruce Dern, and Peter Falk. The film app ...

'' (1969), and ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

'' (1969). He made ''

Catch-22 ''Catch-22'' is a satirical war novel by American author Joseph Heller. He began writing it in 1953; the novel was first published in 1961. Often cited as one of the most significant novels of the twentieth century, it uses a distinctive non-chr ...

'' (1970) at Paramount, ''

The Moonshine War ''The Moonshine War'' is a 1970 American crime comedy-drama film directed by Richard Quine, based on the 1969 novel of the same name by Elmore Leonard. It stars Patrick McGoohan, Richard Widmark, Alan Alda, and Will Geer. Plot John "Son" Marti ...

'' (1970) at MGM, and ''

10 Rillington Place ''10 Rillington Place'' is a 1971 British crime film. The film stars Richard Attenborough, Judy Geeson, John Hurt and Pat Heywood and was directed by Richard Fleischer, produced by Leslie Linder and Martin Ransohoff. It was adapted by Clive Ext ...

'' (1971) and '' See No Evil'' (1971) at Columbia. ''

King Lear ''King Lear'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his power and land between two of his daughters. He becomes destitute and insane an ...

'' (1971) was released by a smaller company. He also made '' Fuzz'' (1972) and ''

Save the Tiger Save, SAVE, or Saved may refer to: Places *Save (Garonne), a river in southern France *Save River (Africa), a river in Zimbabwe and Mozambique *Sava, a river in Eastern Europe also known as Save *Savè, Benin, a commune and city * Save, Govuro ...

'' (1973). His last film for Filmways was ''

The White Dawn ''The White Dawn'' is a 1974 Canadian-American drama film directed by Philip Kaufman and starring Warren Oates, Timothy Bottoms, and Louis Gossett Jr. It portrays the conflict between aboriginal peoples' traditional way of life and Europeans' eag ...

'' (1974).

Post-Filmways

In 1972 Ransohoff became an independent producer. He signed a contract with Paramount to make movies for them. Ransohoff went on to produce such films as '' Silver Streak'' (1976), ''

Nightwing Nightwing is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character has appeared in various incarnations; the identity was adopted by Dick Grayson when he left his role as Batman's vigilante partner Robin. Although ...

'' (1979), and '' The Wanderers'' (1979). He made a short lived TV series ''

Co-Ed Fever ''Co-Ed Fever'' is an American sitcom that aired on CBS in 1979. The series attempted to capitalize on the success of the motion picture ''National Lampoon's Animal House''. It was the third of three "frat house" comedy series to air in early 1 ...

'' (1979) but focused on features: ''

A Change of Seasons ''A Change of Seasons'' is an EP by progressive metal band Dream Theater, first released on September 19, 1995, through East West Records. It comprises the 23-minute title track and a collection of live cover songs performed at a fan club con ...

'' (1980), ''

American Pop ''American Pop'' is a 1981 American adult animated jukebox musical drama film starring Ron Thompson and produced and directed by Ralph Bakshi. It was the fourth animated feature film to be presented in Dolby sound. The film tells the story of f ...

'' (1981), '' Hanky Panky'' (1982), and ''

Class Class or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used differentl ...

'' (1983).

Columbia and later films

Ransohoff had success with '' Jagged Edge'' (1985) based on a script for

Joe Eszterhas József A. Eszterhás ( born November 23, 1944) is a Hungarian-American writer. He attended Ohio University. He wrote the screenplays for the films ''Flashdance'', '' Jagged Edge'', ''Basic Instinct'' and ''Showgirls''. His books include ''Americ ...

. It was made by Columbia who also distributed Ransohoff's '' The Big Town'' (1987), ''

Switching Channels ''Switching Channels'' is a 1988 American comedy film remake of the 1928 play ''The Front Page'', the 1931 film of the same name, and the 1940 film ''His Girl Friday''. It stars Kathleen Turner as Christy Colleran, Burt Reynolds as John L. Sull ...

'' (1988), ''

Physical Evidence In evidence law, physical evidence (also called real evidence or material evidence) is any material object that plays some role in the matter that gave rise to the litigation, introduced as evidence in a judicial proceeding (such as a trial) to ...

'' (1989), and '' Welcome Home'' (1989). It was around that time that his company Albacore Productions had inked pacts with

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...

, which covered domestic theatrical distribution, British film distributor

Rank Film Distributors The Rank Organisation was a British entertainment conglomerate founded by industrialist J. Arthur Rank in April 1937. It quickly became the largest and most vertically integrated film company in the United Kingdom, owning production, distribut ...

, which covered international distribution and

Vestron Video Vestron Video was the main subsidiary of Vestron, Inc., a home video company based in Stamford, Connecticut, that was active from 1981 to 1993, and is considered to have been a pioneer in the home video market. The name is now used for a collecto ...

, which covered home video distribution for a three-film agreement. Ransohoff's later films included ''

Guilty as Sin ''Guilty as Sin'' is a 1993 American legal thriller film written by Larry Cohen, directed by Sidney Lumet and produced by Martin Ransohoff. It stars Rebecca De Mornay and Don Johnson, and was produced by Hollywood Pictures. Plot Jennifer Haines ...

'' (1993) and ''

Turbulence In fluid dynamics, turbulence or turbulent flow is fluid motion characterized by chaotic changes in pressure and flow velocity. It is in contrast to a laminar flow, which occurs when a fluid flows in parallel layers, with no disruption between ...

'' (1997).

Personal life

Ransohoff was married twice. His first wife was Nancy Hope Lundgren; they had four children Peter (born 1952), Karen (born 1954), and twins Steven and Kurt (born 1957). His second wife was Joan Marie Ransohoff, an artist. Ransohoff died on December 13, 2017, at his Bel Air home in Los Angeles. He was 90.Martin Ransohoff, 'Cincinnati Kid' Producer and Founder of Filmways TV, Dies at 90
/ref>

Selected filmography

*'' Boys' Night Out'' (1962) – producer *''

'' (1962–71) (TV series) – executive producer *''

'' (1963) – producer *''

'' (1964) – producer *'' Topkapi'' (1964) – producer *''

'' (1965) – story, producer *''

'' (1965) – producer *''

'' (1965) – executive producer (uncredited) *''

'' (1967) – producer *''

'' (1967) – executive producer *''

'' (1967) – producer *''

'' (1967) – executive producer *''

'' (1968) – producer *''

'' (1968) – executive producer *''

'' (1969) – producer *''

'' (1970) – producer *''

'' (1971) – producer *'' See No Evil'' (1971) – producer *''

'' (1971) – producer *''

What's the Matter with Helen? ''What's the Matter With Helen?'' is a 1971 American exploitation horror film directed by Curtis Harrington and starring Debbie Reynolds and Shelley Winters. Plot Leonard Hill and Wesley Bruckner are seen being loaded into a paddy wagon to face l ...

'' (1971) – presenter *'' Fuzz'' (1972) – producer *''

'' (1973) – producer *''

'' (1974) – story, producer *'' Silver Streak'' (1976) – executive producer *''

'' (1979) – producer *'' The Wanderers'' (1979) – producer *''

'' (1979) (TV series) – executive producer *''

'' (1980) – story, producer *''

'' (1981) – producer *'' Hanky Panky'' (1982) – producer *''

'' (1983) – producer *'' Jagged Edge'' (1985) – producer *'' The Big Town'' (1987) – producer *''

'' (1988) – producer *''

'' (1989) – producer *'' Welcome Home'' (1989) – producer *''

'' (1993) – producer *''

'' (1997) – producer

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ransohoff, Martin 1927 births 2017 deaths People from New Orleans Colgate University alumni Film producers from New York (state) Television producers from New York (state) Film producers from Louisiana Filmways