Martin Ransohoff

Martin Nelson Ransohoff (July 7, 1927 – December 13, 2017) was an American film and television producer, and member of the Ransohoff family.

Early life and education

Ransohoff was born on July 7, 1927, in New Orleans, Louisiana the son of Babette (Strauss) and Arthur Ransohoff. His mother was a former Republican National Committeewoman. He attended Wooster School in Danbury, Connecticut and graduated with a B.A. in History and English from Colgate University in 1948. Mister Ed and The Beverly Hillbillies brought Ransohoff his first major successes in 1960 and 1962. Thereafter he turned his attention to films.

MGM

Ransohoff's first film as producer was Boys' Night Out (1962) starring James Garner and Kim Novak and distributed by MGM. Garner was also in Ransohoff's next two films, both of which were directed by Arthur Hiller: The Wheeler Dealers (1963) and The Americanization of Emily (1964); the latter, based on a script by Paddy Chayefsky, was particularly praised.

Ransohoff found commercial success with The Sandpiper (1965), based on a story by the producer and starring Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor. He produced The Cincinnati Kid (1965), firing Sam Peckinpah as director during filming and replacing him with Norman Jewison; the movie received strong reviews. Less popular was The Loved One (1965). Eye of the Devil (1967) was a thriller originally starring Kim Novak, David Niven, and a young actor Ransohoff put under personal contract, Sharon Tate. Novak was injured during filming and was replaced by Deborah Kerr. Tate was in Ransohoff's next films, The Fearless Vampire Killers (1967), directed by Roman Polanski, whom she would marry (Ransohoff was executive producer), and Don't Make Waves (1967). He executive produced Our Mother's House (1967) in England and produced Ice Station Zebra (1968).

Post-MGM

Ransohoff then signed a deal with Columbia, who distributed his A Midsummer Night's Dream (1968), Castle Keep (1969), and Hamlet (1969). He made Catch-22 (1970) at Paramount, The Moonshine War (1970) at MGM, and 10 Rillington Place (1971) and See No Evil (1971) at Columbia. King Lear (1971) was released by a smaller company. He also made Fuzz (1972) and Save the Tiger (1973). His last film for Filmways was The White Dawn (1974).

Post-Filmways

In 1972, Ransohoff became an independent producer. He signed a contract with Paramount to make movies for them. Ransohoff went on to produce Silver Streak (1976) with Frank Yablans but even though the film was a hit the partnership was uneasy and soon dissolved.

Ranshoff then made Nightwing (1979), and The Wanderers (1979). He made a short lived TV series Co-Ed Fever (1979) but focused on features: A Change of Seasons (1980), American Pop (1981), Hanky Panky (1982), and Class (1983).

Columbia and later films

Ransohoff had success with Jagged Edge (1985) based on a script for Joe Eszterhas. It was made by Columbia who also distributed Ransohoff's The Big Town (1987), Switching Channels (1988), Physical Evidence (1989), and Welcome Home (1989). It was around that time that his company Albacore Productions had inked pacts with Columbia Pictures, which covered domestic theatrical distribution, British film distributor Rank Film Distributors, which covered international distribution and Vestron Video, which covered home video distribution for a three-film agreement. Ransohoff's later films included Guilty as Sin (1993) and Turbulence (1997).

Personal life

Ransohoff was married twice. His first wife was Nancy Hope Lundgren; they had four children Peter (born 1952), Karen (born 1954), and twins Steven and Kurt (born 1957). Ransohoff died on December 13, 2017, at his Bel Air home in Los Angeles. He was 90.

Selected filmography

Boys' Night Out (1962) – producer
The Beverly Hillbillies (1962–71) (TV series) – executive producer
The Wheeler Dealers (1963) – producer
The Americanization of Emily (1964) – producer
Topkapi (1964) – producer
The Sandpiper (1965) – story, producer
The Cincinnati Kid (1965) – producer
The Loved One (1965) – executive producer (uncredited)
Eye of the Devil (1967) – producer
The Fearless Vampire Killers (1967) – executive producer
Don't Make Waves (1967) – producer
Our Mother's House (1967) – executive producer
Ice Station Zebra (1968) – producer
A Midsummer Night's Dream (1968) – executive producer
Castle Keep (1969) – producer
Hamlet (1969) – producer
Catch-22 (1970) – producer
The Moonshine War (1970) – producer
10 Rillington Place (1971) – producer
See No Evil (1971) – producer
King Lear (1971) – producer
What's the Matter with Helen? (1971) – presenter
Fuzz (1972) – producer
Save the Tiger (1973) – producer
The White Dawn (1974) – story, producer
Silver Streak (1976) – executive producer
Nightwing (1979) – producer
The Wanderers (1979) – producer
Co-Ed Fever (1979) (TV series) – executive producer
A Change of Seasons (1980) – story, producer
American Pop (1981) – producer
Hanky Panky (1982) – producer
Class (1983) – producer
Jagged Edge (1985) – producer
The Big Town (1987) – producer
Switching Channels (1988) – producer
Physical Evidence (1989) – producer
Welcome Home (1989) – producer
Guilty as Sin (1993) – producer
Turbulence (1997) – producer