Darryl F. Zanuck

Darryl F. Zanuck

  • Birthday: 1902-09-05
  • Deathday: 1979-12-22
  • Place of birth: Wahoo, Nebraska, USA
  • Also know as: Darryl Francis Zanuck

Biography

Darryl Francis Zanuck (September 5, 1902 – December 22, 1979) was an American film producer and studio executive; he earlier contributed stories for films starting in the silent era. He played a major part in the Hollywood studio system as one of its longest survivors (the length of his career was rivaled only by that of Adolph Zukor). He produced three films that won the Academy Award for Best Picture during his tenure. Zanuck was born in Wahoo, Nebraska, the son of Sarah Louise (née Torpin), who later married Charles Norton, and Frank Harvey Zanuck, who owned and operated a hotel in Wahoo. He had an older brother, Donald (1893–1903), who died in an accident when he was only 9 years old. Zanuck was of partial Swiss descent, and raised a Protestant. At age six, Zanuck and his mother moved to Los Angeles, where the better climate could improve her poor health. At age eight, he found his first movie job as an extra, but his disapproving father recalled him to Nebraska. In 1917, despite being 15, he deceived a recruiter, joined the United States Army, and served in France with the Nebraska National Guard during World War I. Upon returning to the US, he worked in many part-time jobs while seeking work as a writer. He found work producing movie plots, and sold his first story in 1922 to William Russell and his second to Irving Thalberg. Screenwriter Frederica Sagor Maas, story editor at Universal Pictures' New York office, stated that one of the stories Zanuck sent out to movie studios around this time was completely plagiarized from another author's work. Zanuck then worked for Mack Sennett and FBO (where he wrote the serials The Telephone Girl and The Leather Pushers) and took that experience to Warner Bros., where he wrote stories for Rin Tin Tin and under a number of pseudonyms wrote over 40 scripts from 1924 to 1929, including Red Hot Tires (1925) and Old San Francisco (1927). He moved into management in 1929, and became head of production in 1931. In 1933, Zanuck left Warner Bros. over a salary dispute with studio head Jack L. Warner. A few days later, he partnered with Joseph Schenck to form 20th Century Pictures, Inc. with financial help from Joseph's brother Nicholas Schenck and Louis B. Mayer, president and studio head of Loew's, Inc and its subsidiary Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, along with William Goetz and Raymond Griffith. 20th Century released its material through United Artists. During that short time (1933–1935), 20th Century became the most successful independent movie studio of its time, breaking box-office records with 18 of its 19 films, all profitable, including Clive of India, Les Miserables, and The House of Rothschild. After a dispute with United Artists over stock ownership, Schenck and Zanuck negotiated and used their studio to bring the bankrupt Fox studios in 1935 to create Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation. Zanuck was Vice President of Production of this new studio and took a hands-on approach, closely involving himself in scripts, film editing, and producing. ... Source: Article "Darryl F. Zanuck" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.

Filmography

Darryl F. Zanuck: 20th Century Filmmaker

1995

As Self (archive footage)

D-Day Revisited

1968

As Self

Backstory: 'How Green Was My Valley'

2000

As Self (archive footage)

The Screen Writer

1950

As Self (uncredited)

Backstory: 'Gentleman's Agreement'

2001

As Self (archive footage)

Rat Pack

2022

As Self (archive footage)

John Huston: The Man, the Movies, the Maverick

1989

As Self (archive footage)

Cleopatra: The Film That Changed Hollywood

2001

As Self (archive footage)

42nd Street: From Book to Screen to Stage

2006

As Self (archive footage)

Filmmakers vs. Tycoons

2005

As Self (archive footage)

The Casting Couch

1995

As (archive footage)

Frank Capra's American Dream

1997

As Self (archive footage)

1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year

2009

As Self (archive footage)

Production

No Way Out

1950

As Presenter

The Longest Day

1962

As Director

The Grapes of Wrath

1940

As Producer

All About Eve

1950

As Producer

Viva Zapata!

1952

As Producer

Doctor X

1932

As Executive Producer

The Snows of Kilimanjaro

1952

As Producer

Tora! Tora! Tora!

1970

As Executive Producer

People Will Talk

1951

As Producer

The Sun Also Rises

1957

As Producer

The Longest Day

1962

As Producer

Heidi

1937

As Producer

The Blue Bird

1940

As Producer

The Purple Heart

1944

As Producer

Just Around the Corner

1938

As Producer

How Green Was My Valley

1941

As Producer

Advice to the Lovelorn

1933

As Producer

The Snake Pit

1948

As Executive Producer

Pinky

1949

As Producer

Leave Her to Heaven

1945

As Executive Producer

The Public Enemy

1931

As Producer

Boomerang!

1947

As Executive Producer

Night and the City

1950

As Executive Producer

Drums Along the Mohawk

1939

As Producer

Brigham Young

1940

As Producer

Lillian Russell

1940

As Producer

Clive of India

1935

As Producer

Hudson's Bay

1941

As Producer

Know For Sure

1941

As Producer

The Chapman Report

1962

As Producer

Show Them No Mercy!

1935

As Producer

In Old Chicago

1938

As Producer

International Settlement

1938

As Producer

Little Old New York

1940

As Producer

Maryland

1940

As Producer

Metropolitan

1935

As Producer

Here I Am a Stranger

1939

As Producer

Submarine Patrol

1938

As Producer

Private Number

1936

As Production Manager

The Bowery

1933

As Producer

The First Auto

1927

As Producer

Show of Shows

1929

As Producer

Hollywood Cavalcade

1939

As Producer

The Big Gamble

1961

As Producer

Everybody Does It

1949

As Executive Producer

Always Goodbye

1938

As Producer

I'll Give a Million

1938

As Producer

Wake Up and Live

1937

As Producer

Pigskin Parade

1936

As Producer

The Doorway to Hell

1930

As Executive Producer

Parachute Jumper

1933

As Producer

Little Caesar

1931

As Producer

Cardinal Richelieu

1935

As Producer

Lady Windermere's Fan

1925

As Producer

Old San Francisco

1927

As Producer

The Dark Horse

1932

As Producer

Noah's Ark

1928

As Associate Producer

Three on a Match

1932

As Producer

The Man Who Played God

1932

As Producer

The Affairs of Cellini

1934

As Producer

Tenderloin

1928

As Producer

Three Faces East

1930

As Producer

Moulin Rouge

1934

As Producer

The Desired Woman

1927

As Associate Producer

20,000 Years in Sing Sing

1932

As Producer

Looking for Trouble

1934

As Producer

The Mighty Barnum

1934

As Producer

The Cabin in the Cotton

1932

As Producer

Folies Bergère

1935

As Producer

The Jazz Singer

1928

As Producer

Gallant Lady

1933

As Producer

The Country Beyond

1936

As Producer

It Had to Happen

1936

As Producer

Professional Soldier

1935

As Producer

Under Two Flags

1936

As Producer

A Message to Garcia

1936

As Producer

Les Misérables

1935

As Producer

Half Angel

1936

As Producer

On With the Show!

1929

As Producer

The Last Gentleman

1934

As Producer

Call of the Wild

1935

As Producer

Thanks a Million

1935

As Producer

So This Is Paris

1926

As Producer

Illicit

1931

As Producer

Life Begins

1932

As Executive Producer

The Working Man

1933

As Producer

Ex-Lady

1933

As Producer

The Road to Glory

1936

As Producer

Banjo on My Knee

1936

As Executive Producer

Nancy Steele Is Missing!

1937

As Producer

Sing, Baby, Sing

1936

As Producer

Angel's Holiday

1937

As Producer

Reunion

1936

As Executive Producer

Ramona

1936

As Executive Producer

Wee Willie Winkie

1937

As Producer

White Fang

1936

As Producer

On the Avenue

1937

As Producer

Lancer Spy

1937

As Executive Producer

Seventh Heaven

1937

As Producer

Thin Ice

1937

As Producer

Wife, Doctor and Nurse

1937

As Producer

To Mary - with Love

1936

As Producer

White Hunter

1936

As Producer

Poor Little Rich Girl

1936

As Producer

Slave Ship

1937

As Producer

Josette

1938

As Executive Producer

Gateway

1938

As Producer

Sally, Irene and Mary

1938

As Executive Producer

Wife, Husband and Friend

1939

As Producer

Three Blind Mice

1938

As Producer

Tail Spin

1939

As Producer

Susannah of the Mounties

1939

As Executive Producer

Kentucky Moonshine

1938

As Producer

My Lucky Star

1938

As Producer

Kentucky

1938

As Executive Producer

The Rains Came

1939

As Producer

Rose of Washington Square

1939

As Producer

Second Fiddle

1939

As Executive Producer

Swanee River

1939

As Producer

Stanley and Livingstone

1939

As Producer

Hotel for Women

1939

As Producer

Star Dust

1940

As Producer

Happy Landing

1938

As Producer

Little Miss Broadway

1938

As Producer

Jesse James

1939

As Producer

The Hound of the Baskervilles

1939

As Executive Producer

Too Busy to Work

1939

As Producer

Moon Over Miami

1941

As Executive Producer

Four Sons

1940

As Producer

Down Argentine Way

1940

As Producer

Tobacco Road

1941

As Producer

That Night in Rio

1941

As Producer

Public Deb No. 1

1940

As Producer

The Mark of Zorro

1940

As Executive Producer

The Man I Married

1940

As Producer

Chad Hanna

1940

As Producer

Man Hunt

1941

As Executive Producer

Blood and Sand

1941

As Producer

Western Union

1941

As Executive Producer

The Great Profile

1940

As Producer

Sun Valley Serenade

1941

As Executive Producer

The Return of Frank James

1940

As Producer

Wild Geese Calling

1941

As Executive Producer

Week-End in Havana

1941

As Executive Producer

A Yank in the R.A.F.

1941

As Producer

Wintertime

1943

As Executive Producer

Crash Dive

1943

As Executive Producer

China Girl

1942

As Producer

This Above All

1942

As Producer

Sex Hygiene

1942

As Producer

Thunder Birds

1942

As Executive Producer

To the Shores of Tripoli

1942

As Producer

Wilson

1944

As Producer

Winged Victory

1944

As Producer

Dragonwyck

1946

As Producer

Claudia and David

1946

As Executive Producer

Buffalo Bill

1944

As Executive Producer

The Black Swan

1942

As Executive Producer

Song of the Islands

1942

As Executive Producer

Gentleman's Agreement

1947

As Producer

The Shocking Miss Pilgrim

1947

As Executive Producer

Somewhere in the Night

1946

As Executive Producer

The Homestretch

1947

As Executive Producer

The Razor's Edge

1946

As Producer

Carnival in Costa Rica

1947

As Executive Producer

The Foxes of Harrow

1947

As Executive Producer

Moss Rose

1947

As Executive Producer

Centennial Summer

1946

As Executive Producer

Forever Amber

1947

As Executive Producer

Captain from Castile

1947

As Executive Producer

Call Northside 777

1948

As Executive Producer

Strange Triangle

1946

As Executive Producer

Nightmare Alley

1947

As Executive Producer

Road House

1948

As Executive Producer

Give My Regards to Broadway

1948

As Executive Producer

That Wonderful Urge

1948

As Executive Producer

The Fan

1949

As Executive Producer

Sand

1949

As Executive Producer

Cry of the City

1948

As Executive Producer

Fury at Furnace Creek

1948

As Executive Producer

The Forbidden Street

1949

As Executive Producer

It Happens Every Spring

1949

As Executive Producer

Sitting Pretty

1948

As Executive Producer

Apartment for Peggy

1948

As Executive Producer

Slattery's Hurricane

1949

As Executive Producer

Under My Skin

1950

As Executive Producer

Father Was a Fullback

1949

As Executive Producer

Twelve O'Clock High

1949

As Producer

A Ticket to Tomahawk

1950

As Executive Producer

David and Bathsheba

1951

As Producer

The View from Pompey's Head

1955

As Executive Producer

Good Morning, Miss Dove

1955

As Executive Producer

Beneath the 12-Mile Reef

1953

As Executive Producer

Broken Lance

1954

As Executive Producer

Seven Cities of Gold

1955

As Executive Producer

With a Song in My Heart

1952

As Executive Producer

The Roots of Heaven

1958

As Producer

Crack in the Mirror

1960

As Producer

Island in the Sun

1957

As Producer

The Barbarian and the Geisha

1958

As Executive Producer

Hung Up

1973

As Producer

The Visit

1964

As Producer

The King and I

1956

As Executive Producer

The Egyptian

1954

As Producer

On the Threshold of Space

1956

As Executive Producer

Sanctuary

1961

As Producer

Lights of New York

1928

As Production Supervisor

Born to Be Bad

1934

As Producer

The Gunfighter

1950

As Executive Producer

This Is My Affair

1937

As Production Manager

The Littlest Rebel

1935

As Production Manager

The Terror

1928

As Producer

No Way Out

1950

As Producer

The House of Rothschild

1934

As Producer

Love and Hisses

1937

As Producer

Suez

1938

As Producer

The Gorilla

1939

As Executive In Charge Of Production

Lloyd's of London

1936

As Production Manager

The Walls of Jericho

1948

As Executive Producer

Tall, Dark and Handsome

1941

As Executive Producer

Blonde Crazy

1931

As Executive Producer

You're My Everything

1949

As Executive Producer

Young Mr. Lincoln

1939

As Producer

The Agony and the Ecstasy

1965

As Executive Producer

The Pied Piper

1942

As Executive Producer

Ladies In Love

1936

As Executive In Charge Of Production

Love Is News

1937

As Executive In Charge Of Production

Blood Money

1933

As Producer

The Singing Fool

1928

As Producer

Lifeboat

1944

As Executive Producer

'G' Men

1935

As Novel

Baby Face

1933

As Story

The Purple Heart

1944

As Story

Lady Killer

1933

As Story

China Girl

1942

As Screenplay

Thunder Birds

1942

As Story

The Life of the Party

1930

As Writer

Jaws of Steel

1927

As Writer

Find Your Man

1924

As Writer

Noah's Ark

1928

As Story

The Desired Woman

1927

As Story

Old San Francisco

1927

As Writer

The First Auto

1927

As Story

Tenderloin

1928

As Story

The Dark Horse

1932

As Story

Maybe It's Love

1930

As Story

A Yank in the R.A.F.

1941

As Story

Crack in the Mirror

1960

As Writer

The Limited Mail

1925

As Writer

Red Hot Tires

1925

As Story

Hogan's Alley

1925

As Writer

The Better 'Ole

1926

As Screenplay

Footloose Widows

1926

As Writer

My Man

1928

As Story

Seven Sinners

1925

As Story

State Street Sadie

1928

As Story

The Midnight Taxi

1928

As Story

Hardboiled Rose

1929

As Story

Madonna of Avenue A

1929

As Story

Across the Pacific

1926

As Adaptation

The Cave Man

1926

As Writer

A Broadway Butterfly

1925

As Writer

Simple Sis

1927

As Story

Pay as You Enter

1928

As Story

Money to Burns

1924

As Co-Writer

Fighting Blood

1923

As Writer

Fighting Blood

1923

As Writer

Fighting Blood

1923

As Writer

Eve's Lover

1925

As Scenario Writer

Tracked by the Police

1927

As Story

The Missing Link

1927

As Scenario Writer

The Little Irish Girl

1926

As Adaptation

Irish Hearts

1927

As Story

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