Charles K. Feldman
| Charles K. Feldman | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Charles Kenneth Gould April 26, 1905 New York City, New York |
| Died | May 25, 1968 (aged 63) |
| Occupation | Producer and celebrity agent |
| Notable work |
The Glass Menagerie, A Streetcar Named Desire, The Seven Year Itch |
| Spouse(s) |
Jean Howard (1935 m.–1947 div.) Clotilde Barot (April 1968 m.–death) |
Charles K. Feldman (April 26, 1905 – May 25, 1968) was a Hollywood attorney, film producer and talent agent.
Charles Kenneth Gould was born to a Jewish family in New York City on April 26, 1905. His father was a diamond merchant who immigrated to New Jersey. Both of his parents, however, died of cancer and he was orphaned at age six, along with his five siblings. He was taken in by Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Feldman at age seven. Feldman was from Bayonne, New Jersey and was a furniture-store owner. A few years later, the Feldmans moved permanently to California.
Charles Feldman studied at the University of Michigan and later became a lawyer, earning his degree from the University of Southern California. He earned money to put himself through college by working as a mail carrier and a cameraman in a movie studio. He became a lawyer for talent agencies, and by age 30, he had become known as a Hollywood attorney; however, he became an agent instead. In 1932, Feldman founded the Famous Artists corporation and left his job as a lawyer. He was joined by Ad Schulberg. Felder combined his background as a lawyer with his celebrity connections to help find and contract jobs. Among his first clients were Charles Boyer and Joan Bennett. Feldman's Famous Artists which was bought by Ashley-Steiner Famous in 1962.
Feldman began using new tactics in his field. He would buy story ideas contract them to unemployed writers to make into a screenplay. He would also negotiating one-picture deals for a star, not a long-term studio contract, as was the custom. This way clients could work at multiple studios simultaneously. Feldman also combined several clients into one package and selling them to a producer or studio as one unit. Another tactic was the use of overlapping nonexclusive contracts with clients like Irene Dunne and Claudette Colbert, demonstrating flexible alternatives to the so-called iron-clad studio contract in the classical Hollywood era.
In 1942, Feldman was in charge of the Hollywood Victory Caravan for Army and Navy Relief. As an agent, he became friends with celebrities like Jack Warner, Sam Goldwyn,Gary cooper, Greta Garbo, John Wayne, and many others. This idea was the beginning of Hollywood's "package deal." One of his greatest successes was The Bishop's Wife which was produced in 1948. He bought the rights to the book by Robert Nathan for $15,000 and sold the screen play for $200,000.
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