Henry G. Saperstein
Henry G. Saperstein | |
---|---|
Born | Henry Gahagen Sapirstein 2 June 1918 Chicago, Illinois, United States |
Died | 24 June 1998 Beverly Hills, California, United States | (aged 80)
Spouse | Irene Saperstein |
Henry Gahagen Saperstein (June 2, 1918 – June 24, 1998) was an American film producer and distributor.
Biography
The son of Aaron Saperstein and Beatrice Pearl Saperstein,[1] Henry's father owned five independent cinemas in Chicago. Henry was educated at the University of Chicago where he majored in mathematics. When Henry was 20 his father died, leading Henry to drop out of school to run the cinemas. With the wartime boom in cinema going, Henry bought some more cinemas in 1943.
Sensing the demise of cinema attendance and the rise of television, Saperstein acquired the rights to several Westerns featuring Gene Autry and Hopalong Cassidy and Walter Lantz cartoons[2] for his Chicago based Hollywood Toy Television Corporation a toy electric television that showed six minute cartoons or sequences from films.[3]
He moved to Hollywood in 1955 as the president of Television Personalities Inc that specialised in
Henry Saperstein produced
UPA
Saperstein purchased the
Saperstein produced the television special Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol (1962) written by Barbara Chain with music by Bob Merrill and Jule Styne which won the New York Critic's Award, and The Famous Adventures of Mr. Magoo (1964–65) television series which it spawned, as well as the animated feature Gay Purr-ee (1962).
Toho American releases
At UPA, Saperstein was approached by marketers looking for theatrical monster films. Saperstein met with the
During the mid-'60s spy craze, Saperstein acquired the rights to a Japanese James Bond-type film Kokusai himitsu keisatsu: Kagi no kagi. When American preview audiences laughed at the film, Saperstein had the idea to hire comedian Lenny Bruce to write alternative comedy dialogue for the film for a group of actors to dub the original actors. When Bruce refused the project, Saperstein hired Woody Allen for the project that was originally meant to be a television special, but was expanded for cinema release with padding by the musical group The Lovin' Spoonful. The resulting film would be titled What's Up, Tiger Lily?[2]
He continued to produce a variety of films and television shows such as T.A.M.I. Show and was an executive producer on the 1968 feature film Hell in the Pacific.
Death
He died of cancer in Beverly Hills, California on June 24, 1998 at age 80.[8]
Notes
- ^ "Henry Gahagan Saperstein".
- ^ ISBN 978-0819569141.
- ^ Cap May Distribute H'w'd Toy Output Billboard 31 Dec 1949
- ^ The Independent
- ^ ISBN 0-452-25993-2.
- ISBN 0199839220.
- ^ "Henry G. Saperstein". Archived from the original on 3 August 2012.
- ^ Vallance, Tom 29 June 1998. "Obituary: Henry G. Saperstein", The Independent.
External links
- Henry G. Saperstein at IMDb
- Roberto, John Rocco. Fall 1995. "An Interview with Henry G. Saperstein", *Kaiju Fan Online. Originally published in G-Fan.
- "An Interview with Henry G. Saperstein"