Lee Marcus
| Lee Marcus | |
|---|---|
| Born |
December 7, 1893 Buffalo, New York, United States |
| Died | January 30, 1969 (aged 75) Los Angeles County, California, United States |
| Occupation | Producer |
| Years active | 1934–47 |
Lee Marcus, also known as Lee S. Marcus (December 7, 1893 – January 30, 1969), was an American film producer of the 1930s and 1940s. During his fifteen-year career he produced over 85 films, most of them between 1934 and 1941 while he was at RKO Studios. Prior to his production career, Marcus worked for FBO and then RKO as a sales executive, reaching the level of vice president in both organizations. At RKO, he was head of production of the studio's b-films during the late 1930s and the beginning of the 1940s. He was also responsible for producing what many consider to be the first film noir, 1940's Stranger on the Third Floor.
Marcus was born on December 7, 1893 in Buffalo, New York. His father was Albert L. Marcus. During World War I Marcus served with the American Expeditionary Force (AEF), and in 1918 was stationed in Vitry, France.
Growing up in Buffalo, Marcus was an avid theater-goer, attending the performances of many stock theater companies who passed through the city.
Early in his career, he worked for various film distributors. In 1921, he represented W.A.S. Douglas who directed a film for Jawitz Pictures, entitled Watered Stock (later retitled Beware of the Law), in the sale of its domestic and international rights. By the beginning of 1924 he was working for Film Booking Offices of America (FBO). In July 1925 it was announced that he would be the head of sales at FBO, following the death of Harry Berman. In December 1925 Marcus penned an article for The Film Daily extolling the virtues of film shorts, and warning exhibitors against the dangers of overlooking the use of shorts. In 1927 Marcus was one of three film industry executives who formed a committee to produce a trailer meant to show the industry in a good light. The other members of the committee were Al Lichtman of United Artists and Edmund Grainger of 20th Century Fox. Also in 1927, Marcus continued his championing of the film short. In June he announced a list of well-known writers who would be responsible for penning the shorts for FBO. The list included cartoonists Bill Nolan and Fontaine Fox, and short story writer H. C. Witwer. Marcus began reorganizing the sales management and districts within FBO in September 1927. First he promoted his future partner, Charles Rosenzweig, to head the district overseeing FBO's New York State district, and then completely reorganized the mid-west districts. In February 1928 FBO planned a jubilee in honor of the second anniversary of Joseph Kennedy's involvement as owner of FBO. As part of that event, Marcus took the rare step of giving authority to his sales force to directly approve contracts with exhibitors.
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