Paul Frederic Heard (October 14, 1913February 27, 1964) was an American film producer, director, and scriptwriter of

religious films This is a list of films with religious themes. List See also *List of Christian films *List of Islam-related films *List of films based on the Bible References {{DEFAULTSORT:Religious films * Religious Religion is usually defined ...

. From 1946 to 1951 he served as executive director of the

Protestant Film Commission The Protestant Film Commission, also known as the Protestant Film Office, was an American film agency which promoted Protestant religious and moral values in Hollywood cinema. Representing 200,000 American Protestant churches with approximately 34 ...

, which produced

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

s for distribution to denominational churches across the United States and Canada. He then formed his own independent production house for religious films. His short film '' Kenji Comes Home'' (1949) was nominated for the

Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...

Early life and education

Paul Frederic Heard was born on October 14, 1913, in Olivia, Minnesota. His father, Rev. J. W. Heard, and grandfather, Rev. C. M. Heard, were both

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

ministers. Heard studied at Lawrence College, his father's alma mater, from 1929 to 1931. He enrolled at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

from 1933 until his graduation in 1935, studying film production in the school's visual education department.

Career

From 1938 to 1940, Heard worked as a production supervisor in the University of Minnesota's visual education department. In 1940, he became director of films for the

Methodist Church Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related Christian denomination, denominations of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John W ...

's national board of missions in New York. From 1942 to 1945, he was Orientation Film Officer for the

Bureau of Naval Personnel The Bureau of Naval Personnel (BUPERS) in the United States Department of the Navy is similar to the human resources department of a corporation. The bureau provides administrative leadership and policy planning for the Office of the Chief of Nava ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

In the latter capacity, he produced training and propaganda films for the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

. In 1945, Heard was appointed executive director of the newly formed

. At that time, he commented that "similar techniques" as those used in government propaganda films could be applied to religious films to bring about "spiritual realizations" regarding the challenges of modern life. When the Protestant Film Commission merged with the Protestant Radio Commission to form the

Broadcasting and Film Commission Broadcasting is the distribution of audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio waves), in a one-to-many model. Broadcasting began wi ...

(BFC) of the National Council of Churches of Christ in December 1950, Heard was named director of films in the new organization. But in 1951, he resigned in order to become an independent producer of Christian films. He was president of Paul F. Heard Inc, a motion picture production company, until 1963. In 1954, the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' called Paul F. Heard Inc. "one of the big three producers of religious films", and said that Heard had had a hand in the production of hundreds of films for this sector. Heard entered the television market in the early 1950s with the production of a 13-part series of short films titled ''What's Your Troubles'', featuring Dr. and Mrs.

Norman Vincent Peale Norman Vincent Peale (May 31, 1898 – December 24, 1993) was an American Protestant clergyman, and an author best known for popularizing the concept of positive thinking, especially through his best-selling book ''The Power of Positive ...

Honors and awards

At the

22nd Academy Awards The 22nd Academy Awards were held on March 23, 1950, at the RKO Pantages Theatre, honoring the films in 1949. This was the final year in which all five Best Picture nominees were in Black & White, and the first year in which every film nomi ...

, Heard's production '' Kenji Comes Home'' was nominated for

Best Documentary Feature Best or The Best may refer to: People * Best (surname), people with the surname Best * Best (footballer, born 1968), retired Portuguese footballer Companies and organizations * Best & Co., an 1879–1971 clothing chain * Best Lock Corporation, ...

; it lost to the British documentary '' Daybreak in Udi''. ''We Hold These Truths'' (1952), a Paul F. Heard Inc. production, was named best film in its category at a

Stamford, Connecticut Stamford () is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut, outside of Manhattan. It is Connecticut's second-most populous city, behind Bridgeport. With a population of 135,470, Stamford passed Hartford and New Haven in population as of the 2020 ...

, film festival.

Memberships

Heard was a member of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences and of Toastmasters International.

Personal life

In October 1941, Heard's father officiated at his marriage to Gwendolin Vandarwarka in Appleton, Wisconsin. In 1950, his wife's mother moved to California and lived with them until her death a month after her 100th birthday in 1963. Heard died on February 27, 1964, aged 50, after undergoing surgery for cancer at Veterans Hospital in

San Fernando San Fernando may refer to: People *Ferdinand III of Castile (c. 1200–1252), called ''San Fernando'' (Spanish) or ''Saint Ferdinand'', King of Castile, León, and Galicia Places Argentina *San Fernando de la Buena Vista, city of Greater Buenos ...

. Funeral services were held at the Hollywood Congregational Church and burial took place at Mountain View Cemetery in

Altadena Altadena () ("Alta", Spanish for "Upper", and "dena" from Pasadena) is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in the Verdugo Mountains region of Los Angeles County, California, approximately 14 miles (23 km) from the downtown ...

Selected filmography

*'' Kenji Comes Home'' (1949) – producer *''

Prejudice Prejudice can be an affective feeling towards a person based on their perceived group membership. The word is often used to refer to a preconceived (usually unfavourable) evaluation or classification of another person based on that person's per ...

'' (1949) – executive producer *'' Second Chance'' (1950) – producer *''

Again Pioneers ''Again Pioneers'' (sometimes referred to as ''Again... Pioneers!'') is a 1950 American black-and-white short film, short Drama (film and television), drama film produced by Paul F. Heard for the Protestant Film Commission. Directed by William Be ...

'' (1950) – producer *'' South of the Clouds'' (1950) – producer *'' A Wonderful Life'' (1951) – producer *''The Congregation'' (1951) – producer *''More for Peace'' (1952) – producer *''We Hold These Truths'' (1952) – producer *''For Every Child'' (1953) – producer *''City Story'' (1954) – producer *''The Hidden Heart'' (1954) – producer *''What Price Freedom?'' (1955) – director *'' Hong Kong Affair'' (1958) – producer, director, co-writer *''The Broken Mask'' (1958) – producer *''The Secret of the Gift'' (1959) – producer, co-writer

References

Sources

* * * * *

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Heard, Paul F. 1913 births 1964 deaths Film producers from Minnesota Film producers from California Film directors from Minnesota Military personnel from Minnesota United States Navy personnel of World War II Screenwriters from Minnesota American male screenwriters People from Olivia, Minnesota Film directors from Los Angeles Lawrence University alumni University of Minnesota alumni 20th-century American male writers Deaths from cancer in California Burials in California 20th-century American screenwriters