Howard Winchel Koch (April 11, 1916 – February 16, 2001) was an American producer and director of film and television.

Life and career

Koch was born in New York City, the son of Beatrice (Winchel) and William Jacob Koch. His family was

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

. He attended

DeWitt Clinton High School , motto_translation = Without Work Nothing Is Accomplished , image = DeWitt Clinton High School front entrance IMG 7441 HLG.jpg , seal_image = File:Clinton News.JPG , seal_size = 124px , ...

and the Peddie School in Hightstown, New Jersey. He began his film career as an employee at

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 Americ ...

office in New York then made his Hollywood filmmaking debut in 1947 as an assistant director. He worked as a producer for the first time in 1953 and a year later made his directing debut. In 1964, Paramount Pictures appointed him head of film production, a position he held until 1966 when he left to set up his own production company. He had a production pact with Paramount for over 15 years. Among his numerous television productions, Howard W. Koch produced the

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

show on eight occasions. Dedicated to the industry, he served as President of the

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization with the stated goal of advancing the arts and sciences of motio ...

from 1977 to 1979. In 1990 the Academy honored him with The Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award and in 1991 he received the Frank Capra Achievement Award from the

Directors Guild of America The Directors Guild of America (DGA) is an entertainment guild that represents the interests of film and television directors in the United States motion picture industry and abroad. Founded as the Screen Directors Guild in 1936, the group merge ...

. Together with actor

Telly Savalas Aristotelis "Telly" Savalas (January 21, 1922 – January 22, 1994) was an American actor and singer whose career spanned four decades. Noted for his bald head and deep, resonant voice, he is perhaps best known for portraying Lt. Theo Kojak on th ...

, Howard Koch owned Telly's Pop, winner of several important California races for juveniles including the Norfolk Stakes and

Del Mar Futurity The Del Mar Futurity is a seven-furlong American Thoroughbred horse race held annually at Del Mar Racetrack in Del Mar, California. A Grade I event since 2007, the race is open to two-year-old horses and offers a purse of $300,000. In 1971, it w ...

. Howard W. Koch suffered from Alzheimer's disease and died in at his home in Beverly Hills, California on February 16, 2001. He had two children from a marriage of 64 years to Ruth Pincus, who died in March 2009. In 2004, his son

Hawk Koch Howard Winchel "Hawk" Koch Jr. (born December 14, 1945) is an American film producer, the former president of both the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the Producers Guild of America, and a former road manager for the musical grou ...

was elected to the

Board of Governors A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organi ...

of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Filmography

Director

Film (director) * '' Shield for Murder'' (1954) * '' Big House, U.S.A.'' (1955) * ''

Untamed Youth ''Untamed Youth'' is a 1957 American teen film directed by Howard W. Koch, written by John C. Higgins and Stephen Longstreet, and starring Mamie Van Doren and Lori Nelson as two starstruck sisters who are sentenced to farm labor. Plot Sisters ...

'' (1957) * ''

Bop Girl Goes Calypso ''Bop Girl Goes Calypso'' is a 1957 American United Artists film directed by Howard W. Koch and starring Judy Tyler. It features calypso music by the Bobby Troup Trio and bassist Jim Aton. Plot Working on a thesis, college student Bob Hilton ...

'' (1957) * '' Jungle Heat'' (1957) * '' The Girl in Black Stockings'' (1957) * ''

Fort Bowie Fort Bowie was a 19th-century outpost of the United States Army located in southeastern Arizona near the present day town of Willcox, Arizona. The remaining buildings and site are now protected as Fort Bowie National Historic Site. Fort Bowi ...

'' (1957) * '' Violent Road'' (1958) * '' Frankenstein 1970'' (1958) * '' Born Reckless'' (1958) * ''

Andy Hardy Comes Home ''Andy Hardy Comes Home'' is a 1958 comedy film directed by Howard W. Koch. It is the 16th and final film in the Andy Hardy series, with Mickey Rooney reprising his signature role. It was produced 12 years after the previous Hardy film, and was a ...

'' (1958) * ''

The Last Mile The Last Mile may refer to: * The Last Mile (prison rehabilitation program), a program for inmates in the California corrections system * ''The Last Mile'' (play), a 1930 play by John Wexley * ''The Last Mile'' (1932 film), an American adaptatio ...

'' (1959) * '' Badge 373'' (1973) Television (director) * ''

Maverick Maverick, Maveric or Maverik may refer to: History * Maverick (animal), an unbranded range animal, derived from U.S. cattleman Samuel Maverick Aviation * AEA Maverick, an Australian single-seat sportsplane design * General Aviation Design Burea ...

'' (1957) (1 episode) * '' Hawaiian Eye'' (1959) (2 episodes) * ''

Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. Their Cheyenne language belongs to the Algonquian language family. Today, the Cheyenne people are split into two federally recognized nations: the Southern Cheyenne, who are enr ...

'' (1958) (1 episode) * ''

The Untouchables Untouchables or The Untouchables may refer to: American history * Untouchables (law enforcement), a 1930s American law enforcement unit led by Eliot Ness * ''The Untouchables'' (book), an autobiography by Eliot Ness and Oscar Fraley * ''The U ...

'' (1959) (4 episodes) * ''The Gun of Zangara'' (1960) (TV movie) * ''

Miami Undercover ''Miami Undercover'' is an American crime drama series that aired in broadcast syndication from January to October 1961 for a total of 38 episodes. The series stars Lee Bowman (who had previously played sleuth Ellery Queen on television) and boxe ...

'' (1961) (38 episodes) * '' Texaco Presents Bob Hope in a Very Special Special: On the Road with Bing'' (1977)

Producer

Film (producer): * '' War Paint'' (1953) * '' Beachhead'' (1954) * '' Shield for Murder'' (1954) * '' Big House, U.S.A.'' (1955) * '' Rebel in Town'' (1956) * '' Frankenstein 1970'' (1958) * ''

Sergeants 3 ''Sergeants 3'' is a 1962 American comedy/Western film directed by John Sturges and starring Rat Pack icons Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford and Joey Bishop. It was the last film to feature all five members of the Ra ...

'' (1962) * ''

The Manchurian Candidate ''The Manchurian Candidate'' is a novel by Richard Condon, first published in 1959. It is a political thriller about the son of a prominent U.S. political family who is brainwashed into being an unwitting assassin for a Communist conspiracy. Th ...

'' (1962) * '' Come Blow Your Horn'' (1963) * '' Robin and the 7 Hoods'' (1964) * '' The Odd Couple'' (1968) * ''

On a Clear Day You Can See Forever ''On a Clear Day You Can See Forever'' is a musical with music by Burton Lane and a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner based loosely on ''Berkeley Square'', written in 1926 by John L. Balderston. It concerns a woman who has ESP and has been re ...

'' (1970) * '' A New Leaf'' (1971) * ''

Plaza Suite ''Plaza Suite'' is a comedy play by Neil Simon. Plot The play is composed of three acts, each involving different characters but all set in Suite 719 of New York City's Plaza Hotel. The first act, ''Visitor From Mamaroneck'', introduces the au ...

'' (1971) * '' Last of the Red Hot Lovers'' (1972) * '' Jacqueline Susann's Once Is Not Enough'' (1975) * ''

The Other Side of Midnight ''The Other Side of Midnight'' is a novel by American writer Sidney Sheldon published in 1973. The book reached No. 1 on the ''New York Times'' Best Seller list. It was made into a 1977 film, and followed by a sequel written by Sheldon titl ...

'' (1977) * ''

Airplane! ''Airplane!'' (alternatively titled ''Flying High!'') is a 1980 American parody film written and directed by the brothers David Zucker, David and Jerry Zucker, and Jim Abrahams in their directorial debuts, and produced by Jon Davison (film prod ...

'' (1980) * '' Some Kind of Hero'' (1982) * '' Airplane II: The Sequel'' (1982) * '' Ghost'' (1990) Television (producer) * ''

Magnavox Presents Frank Sinatra ''Magnavox Presents Frank Sinatra'' (or ''Ol' Blue Eyes Is Back'') was an NBC musical television special starring Frank Sinatra broadcast on November 18, 1973. The special was written by Fred Ebb, directed by Marty Pasetta, and produced by Howa ...

'' (1973)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Koch, Howard W. 1916 births 2001 deaths Film producers from New York (state) 20th-century American Jews American film studio executives American racehorse owners and breeders Deaths from Alzheimer's disease DeWitt Clinton High School alumni Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award winners Peddie School alumni Deaths from dementia in California Presidents of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Film directors from New York City