Wilbur Stark
Wilbur Stark | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 10, 1912 Brooklyn, New York City, U.S. |
| Died | August 11, 1995 (aged 83) New York City, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation(s) | Producer, director, writer |
| Years active | 1946โ1989 |
| Spouse | Kathi Norris (divorced) |
| Children | 3, including Koo Stark |
Wilbur Stark (August 10, 1912 โ August 11, 1995) was an American writer and film, television, and radio producer and director.
Life
Stark was born in Brooklyn[1] and was the brother of Douglas Stark, an actor, Sheldon Stark, a writer, and Midge Stark, another producer. He was educated at the Manual Training High School and Columbia University. In 1935 he was hired by the Christian radio station WMCA, becoming a top salesman there.[2]
In 1943 he joined the United States Army,[3] then in 1946 established a radio production company,[2] going into partnership with Jerry Layton as Wilbur Stark-Jerry Layton Productions.[4]
Stark first made a name in the 1940s as producer of Movie Matinee, a radio quiz show on WOR, going on to produce more than 1,500 shows on radio and a thousand on television.[1] By January 1950, Stark and Layton had produced nearly eight hundred network program episodes, many for DuMont.[5] In December 1950, they announced that they were setting up separate offices, but would continue as partners splitting the packages and talent they already represented.[6]
Stark's credits as a television producer included Colonel Humphrey Flack and Rocky King Detective in the 1950s[1] and The Brothers Brannagan in 1960-61. Moving on to the film world, Stark was producer of Act of Reprisal (1964), My Lover, My Son (1970), All I Want Is You... and You... and You... (1974), Cat People (1982), and The Storyteller.[1]
In 1983, Photoplay noted that Stark "makes a profitable habit of buying up good old movies for fashionable re-treads (such as Cat People, last year) is planning his own, more contemporary revision of Suspicion".[7]
In 1945 he married
Stark and his wife separated and divorced in the 1960s.
In 1980,
Stark was also a director and writer, his writing credits including Vampire Circus (1971), The Love Box, and The Stud (1974).[14]
By the 1990s, Stark was living in
Films
- Act of Reprisal (1964) : Producer
- My Lover, My Son (1970) : Writer and Producer
- Vampire Circus (1971) : Writer and Producer
- The Love Box (1972) - under the pseudonyms "Billy and Teddy White", alongside Tudor Gates: both credited as writers, producers and directors
- All I Want Is You... and You... and You... (1974) : Producer
- The Thing (1982) : Executive producer[13]
- Cat People (1982) : Executive producer
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f "Wilbur Stark, TV Producer, 81". The New York Times. August 14, 1991. p. B6.
- ^ a b Jacob Levich, The Motion Picture Guide 1996 Annual: The Films of 1995 (1996), p. 380
- ^ Radio Daily, Volume 25 (1943), p. 44: "Wilbur Stark Inducted / Wilbur Stark, ace salesman for WMCA, was inducted into the Army yesterday."
- ^ Ryan Ellett, Radio Drama and Comedy Writers, 1928-1962 (2017), p. 182
- ^ David Weinstein, The Forgotten Network: DuMont and the Birth of American Television (2006), p. 182
- ^ 'Stark, Layton Split Agency' in Billboard dated December 2, 1950, p. 4, col. 2
- ^ Photoplay Movies & Video, Volume 34, Issues 6-12 (1983), p. xi
- ^ Radio Daily - Volume 31 (1945), p. 55: "Wilbur Stark, WMCA time salesman, getting hitched this morning to Kathleen I. Norris โ the radio writer, not the author, natch."
- ^ The Billboard dated August 30, 1952, p. 44, col. 1
- ^ Private Eye - Issues 523-549 (1982), p. 38
- ^ New York Timesdated August 29, 1993, accessed 17 November 2017
- ^ Fantasy Newsletter, Volume 3, Issues 20-31 (1980), p. 12
- ^ a b Ian Conrich, David Woods, The Cinema of John Carpenter: The Technique of Terror (2004), p. 184
- ^ Gyles Brandreth, Something Sensational to Read in the Train (2009), p. 257
External links
- Wilbur Stark at IMDb
- Wilbur Stark at bfi.org.uk
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