APJAC Productions
| Arthur P. Jacobs | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
March 7, 1922 Los Angeles |
| Died | June 27, 1973 (aged 51) Los Angeles |
| Occupation | Film producer |
| Spouse(s) | Natalie Trundy (1968–1973; his death) |
Arthur P. Jacobs (March 7, 1922 – June 27, 1973) was a press agent turned film producer responsible for such films in the 1960s and 1970s as the Planet of the Apes series, Doctor Dolittle, Goodbye, Mr. Chips, Play It Again, Sam and Tom Sawyer through his company APJAC Productions.
Arthur P. Jacobs was born to a Jewish family in Los Angeles. He lost his father in a car accident in 1940 and his mother to cancer in 1959. Jacobs majored in cinema at the University of Southern California in 1942. Starting as a courier at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1943, he was promoted to their publicity department before being lured to Warner Bros. as a publicist in 1946. In 1947, he left Warners to open his own public relations office, and in 1956 he formed The Arthur P. Jacobs Co., Inc. Among his clients were Gregory Peck, James Stewart, Judy Garland and Marilyn Monroe.
In 1963, Jacobs formed the feature film production company APJAC Productions, which released its first film, What a Way to Go! through 20th Century-Fox the following year. Jacobs had been able to secure financing for the project on the strength of Fox contract star Monroe's agreement to star in it, but her death in 1962 forced Jacobs to replace her with Shirley MacLaine. What a Way to Go! became one of Fox's highest-grossing releases of 1964, earning Jacobs enough credibility for the studio to finance Doctor Dolittle, ultimately a much-maligned movie that failed both critically and commercially upon its release in 1967. Planet of the Apes, however, became a box office hit in 1968 and spawned four sequels.
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