Login
Login

Sandy Howard

{{short description|American film producer and television producer}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2013}}

Sandy Howard (August 1, 1927 – May 16, 2008) was an American film producer and television producer.

Biography

A native of the Bronx, New York City, Howard wrote short stories for publication in magazines like Liberty, and worked as a publicist for Broadway shows until he became a director for the Howdy Doody show at the age of nineteen; he later produced the Captain Kangaroo show.[http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-howard18-2008may18,0,1071675.story "Sandy Howard, 80; produced 'A Man Called Horse'"] (Retrieved on May 18, 2008)

He cooperated with Ray Heatherton creating the TV show The Merry Mailman in the early 1950s. He was producer of The Barry Gray Radio Show (1951–1958).[https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/producer-behind-a-man-called-horse-dies-1.762804 "Producer behind A Man Called Horse dies"] – CBC News (Saturday, May 17, 2008) (Retrieved on May 17, 2008)

=Film producer=

In the 1960s, Howard moved to Hollywood to pursue a career in film. Among his film productions are A Man Called Horse (1970) and Man in the Wilderness (1971).{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JXrpDAAAQBAJ&q=blood+frenzy+1987&pg=PA3|title=It Cam from the 80s!: Interviews with 124 Cult Filmmakers|first=Francesco|last=Borseti|year=2016|publisher=McFarland|pages=20–39|isbn=9781476666044}}

After an explosion on the Greek set of Sky Riders (1976), which he was producing for 20th Century Fox, a Greek electrician died and 11 others were injured and Howard was arrested for manslaughter and detained for several weeks. He was unable to leave the country for five months and a $250,000 out-of-court settlement was made,{{cite magazine|url=https://variety.com/1975/film/reviews/sky-riders-1200423657/|title=Sky Riders|magazine=Variety|date=24 March 1976|last=Mack.}} - which one Variety article called a "bribe" - so the crew member responsible would not be imprisoned by the military regime.{{cite magazine|url=https://variety.com/2008/film/markets-festivals/producer-sandy-howard-dies-at-81-1117985903/|title=Producer Sandy Howard dies at 81|magazine=Variety|date=May 16, 2008}}

While stuck in Greece, he claimed he made unfavourable deals to make films such as The Return of a Man Called Horse (1976) and The Island of Dr Moreau (1977). He contributed as writer on Vice Squad (1982).

In December 1984, he and his company filed for bankruptcy claiming that he was owed millions of dollars from foreign distributors despite the recent success of Angel (1984) and having four films ready to be released.{{cite magazine|magazine=Daily Variety|date=December 21, 1984|last=Klein|first=Richard|title=Producer Sandy Howard Buckles Under Debts , Filing Bankruptcy}}

In 1986, he had signed a film deal with Spectrafilm via his Howard International Film Group to produce and distribute three films, and also serve as a co-financing agreement on these films that were part of the Spectrafilm pact, and the move gave them a consistent theatrical distribution distributor for the first time since 1984, and the first title was PrettyKill, which Spectrafilm had domestic theatrical distribution rights, while Lorimar-Telepictures would have other world rights to the title.{{Cite news|date=1986-11-05|title=Spectrafilm Pacts With Howard For Trio Of Features|pages=6, 28|work=Variety}} In 1987, TV producer Fries Entertainment received a deal in which they would acquire three rights to Sandy Howard's productions overseas, on behalf of Spectrafilm and Sandy Howard Productions.{{Cite news|date=1987-03-11|title=Fries Entertainment Heralds Deal To Sell Howard Pics Overseas|page=28|work=Variety}} That year, Sandy Howard had teamed up with Australian film and video company Taimac SBS to co-produce four theatrical films that was set for release in 1988, and the first project planned in the SBS/Sandy Howard co-production agreement was Truk Lagoon, which was slated for a $7.2 million budget, but the film was never materialized.{{Cite news |last=Silverman |first=Marie Saxon |date=1987-08-19 |title=Sandy Howard Eyes Down Under For Feature Coproduction Deal |pages=6, 38 |work=Variety}}

=Death=

He developed Alzheimers and spent the last ten years of his life as a resident at the Motion Picture & Television Fund Hospital in Woodland Hills, in the Alzheimer's and dementia care facility, Harry's Haven. He died in 2008.

Select credits

Awards

References

{{reflist}}

External links

  • [https://web.archive.org/web/20190305173017/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b9f622ccc Sandy Howard] at BFI
  • [https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0397590/ Sandy Howard] at IMDb
  • [https://variety.com/2008/film/markets-festivals/producer-sandy-howard-dies-at-81-1117985903/ Obituary] at Variety

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Howard, Sandy}}

Category:1927 births

Category:2008 deaths

Category:Film producers from New York City