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Daniel Melnick

Daniel Melnick
Born (1932-04-21)April 21, 1932
New York City, New York, United States
Died October 13, 2009(2009-10-13) (aged 77)
Los Angeles, California, United States
Occupation Film producer, studio executive
Notable work All That Jazz
Straw Dogs
Spouse(s) Linda (1955–1971)
Children 2

Daniel Melnick (April 21, 1932 – October 13, 2009) was an American film producer and movie studio executive who started working in Hollywood as a teenager in television and then became the producer of such films as All That Jazz, Altered States and Straw Dogs. Melnick's films won more than 20 Academy Awards out of some 80 nominations.

Melnick was born on April 21, 1932, in New York City, the son of Celia and Benjamin Melnick, Jewish immigrants from Russia. His father was killed in a car crash when Melnick was a child. His mother remarried. Melnick attended the High School of Performing Arts. After high school, Melnick attended New York University. He served in the United States Army during the 1950s, where he produced entertainment for troops while stationed at New Jersey's Fort Dix and in Oklahoma.

After relocating to Hollywood as a 19-year-old, he became CBS Television's youngest producer, and then shortly thereafter was hired by ABC, where he worked on the development of such programs as The Flintstones and The Fugitive. Melnick became an independent producer, forming a company with David Susskind that produced the Emmy Award-winning TV productions aired on CBS, with Ages of Man starring John Gielgud in 1966, which included readings from William Shakespeare's works ranging from Romeo and Juliet to Richard II, with critic Jack Gould of The New York Times calling it "a viewing occasion to be treasured". In 1967 they presented Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman, starring Lee J. Cobb, a production that Jack Gould of The Times described as one "that will stand as the supreme understanding of the tragedy of Willy Loman." They also produced the secret agent satire Get Smart that ran from 1965 to 1970 on CBS and NBC, as well as the police drama N.Y.P.D. that ran on ABC from 1967–69. The firm, Talent Associates, was bought out by Norton Simon, Inc. in August 1968 for an undisclosed price, with the commitment that the unit would operate independently and the principals would stay on in senior positions to manage the company.


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