Darryl F. Zanuck

Production

🎂 1902-09-05

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.

Cast credits(20)

Writing (49)

Production (238)

Producer

1926

Producer

1962

Producer

1935

Producer

1950

Executive In Charge Of Production

1939

Producer

1952

Executive Producer

1970

Producer

1954

Producer

1941

Executive Producer

1950

Producer

1936

Producer

1940

Executive Producer

1956

Producer

1946

Executive Producer

1953

Executive Producer

1945

Producer

1940

Producer

1931

Executive Producer

1948

Executive Producer

1942

Executive Producer

1965

Executive Producer

1947

Producer

1949

Producer

1941

Producer

1947

Executive Producer

1939

Producer

1931

Executive Producer

1944

Executive Producer

1940

Producer

1951

Producer

1952

Executive Producer

1954

Associate Producer

1928

Producer

1935

Producer

1949

Producer

1939

Producer

1939

Executive Producer

1947

Producer

1956

Producer

1950

Executive Producer

1948

Executive Producer

1943

Executive Producer

1948

Producer

1939

Producer

1937

Executive Producer

1950

Executive Producer

1941

Producer

1940

Producer

1957

Producer

1939

Executive Producer

1932

Producer

1940

Executive Producer

1948

Executive Producer

1941

Producer

1934

Producer

1951

Executive Producer

1947

Executive Producer

1952

Executive Producer

1950

Producer

1941

Executive Producer

1947

Producer

1938

Producer

1958

Producer

1933

Producer

1935

Producer

1944

Executive Producer

1955

Producer

1932

Producer

1946

Producer

1935

Production Supervisor

1928

Executive Producer

1942

Producer

1941

Producer

1935

Executive Producer

1958

Producer

1939

Producer

1933

Producer

1957

Producer

1929

Producer

1932

Producer

1936

Executive Producer

1948

Producer

1940

Executive Producer

1942

Producer

1961

Executive Producer

1931

Executive Producer

1932

Executive Producer

1942

Producer

1940

Producer

1939

Executive Producer

1946

Executive Producer

1948

Producer

1942

Producer

1933

Producer

1938

Executive Producer

1955

Executive Producer

1944

Producer

1964

Producer

1936

Executive Producer

1949

Producer

1939

Producer

1962

Executive Producer

1941

Producer

1944

Producer

1940

Producer

1934

Producer

1942

Executive Producer

1946

Production Manager

1935

Producer

1938

Executive Producer

1941

Producer

1937

Producer

1940

Associate Producer

1927

Producer

1937

Producer

1944

Producer

1934

Executive Producer

1949

Executive Producer

1943

Executive Producer

1942

Producer

1932

Producer

1938

Producer

1937

Executive Producer

1938

Producer

1936

Producer

1932

Producer

1938

Producer

1936

Producer

1935

Production Manager

1936

Producer

1942

Producer

1939

Executive Producer

1947

Executive Producer

1949

Producer

1940

Producer

1938

Producer

1934

Producer

1941

Producer

1938

Executive Producer

1949

Executive Producer

1948

Executive Producer

1947

Producer

1928

Production Manager

1937

Producer

1942

Executive In Charge Of Production

1937

Producer

1939

Producer

1938

Executive Producer

1949

Producer

1934

Executive Producer

1949

Producer

1927

Producer

1932

Producer

1939

Producer

1938

Executive Producer

1941

Executive Producer

1936

Executive Producer

1937

Producer

1938

Producer

1936

Producer

1939

Executive Producer

1939

Executive Producer

1939

Executive Producer

1947

Producer

1936

Executive In Charge Of Production

1936

Producer

1939

Producer

1934

Producer

1936

Producer

1939

Producer

1938

Executive Producer

1941

Producer

1936

Producer

1933

Producer

1938

Executive Producer

1948

Producer

1933

Producer

1940

Producer

1941

Executive Producer

1946

Producer

1937

Executive Producer

1947

Producer

1939

Producer

1940

Executive Producer

1938

Executive Producer

1948

Producer

1937

Producer

1934

Producer

1937

Producer

1932

Producer

1928

Producer

1938

Producer

1935

Producer

1937

Production Manager

1936

Producer

1934

Executive Producer

1936

Producer

1925

Producer

1933

Producer

1940

Producer

1937

Producer

1939

Producer

1933

Producer

1940

Producer

1937

Producer

1937

Producer

1935

Executive Producer

1955

Executive Producer

1949

Producer

1961

Executive Producer

1956

Producer

1930

Producer

1929

Producer

1928

Executive Producer

1946

Producer

1927

Executive Producer

1941

Producer

1940

Producer

1941

Producer

1936

Executive Producer

1936

Producer

1938

Executive Producer

1938

Producer

1935

Producer

1931

Producer

1941

Executive Producer

1930

Executive Producer

1950

Producer

1973

Producer

1960

Executive Producer

1949

Executive Producer

1947

Producer

1935

Producer

1936

Executive Producer

1948

Producer

1936

Producer

1936

Producer

1925

Crew (4)

Presenter

1945

Presenter

1950

Presenter

1948

Additional Writing

1947

Directing (1)

Director

1942