Mark Damon | |
---|---|
Mark Damon, CEO & Chairman of Foresight Unlimited, LLC.
|
|
Born |
Alan Harris April 22, 1933 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
Occupation | Film actor, producer |
Years active | 1954-1997 |
Spouse(s) | Barbara Frey (1971-1973) Margaret Markov (1974-present; 2 children) |
Mark Damon (born April 22, 1933) is an American film actor and producer. He rose to fame through acting roles in films like Roger Corman’s House of Usher, before moving to Italy and becoming a notable Western star and member of the 1960s Dolce Vita set of actors and actresses in Rome. After starring in over 50 films in the United States and Europe, he quit acting and reinvented himself as a film producer and pioneer of the foreign sales business in the 1970s, and became one of Hollywood’s most prolific producers.
Mark Damon was born Alan Harris in Chicago, the son of a grocer. His family was Jewish, and their surname had originally been "Herscovitz". Damon moved to Los Angeles, California at a young age where he attended Fairfax High School.
As a senior in high school, he was scouted as an actor by Groucho Marx, but chose to attend dental school at UCLA. He soon switched to the Anderson School of Management, eventually graduating with an MBA and a BA in English. Damon also began taking theater classes, and decided that he wanted a career as an actor.
In 1956, Damon started his career in Hollywood. He signed a contract with 20th Century Fox and their Regal Pictures affiliate appearing in such films as Between Heaven and Hell (1956) and This Rebel Breed (1957).