Gene Gutowski
Encyclopedia
Gene Gutowski born as Witold Bardach (May 7, 1925 in Lwów, Poland
(now Ukraine
))
Son of Julius Bardach (Lawyer) and Anna Bardach (Concert Pianist).
Gene Gutowski is most known as a Polish-American film producer
having produced many of Roman Polanski
's films.
In 1941 the Germans occupied Lwów and a year later his entire family who has lived there for generations was killed, Witold escaped to Warsaw where he took on the name 'Eugene Gutowski'. He first worked for a photographer and later as an employee of the Junkers
factory at Okęcie Airport, secretly removing Luftwaffe radio-transmitters for delivery to the Polish underground army (Armia Krajowa
) Escaping from the Gestapo at 18 he became the head of a construction company working for the Organisation Todt
in Riga, Latvia and was later evacuated to Germany at the end of 1944.
At the end of war in May 1945, again escaping from the advancing Soviet army, Gene Gutowski joined the US Army Counter Intelligence Corps
. Worked as Special Agent out of the Garmisch-Partenkirchen office until March 1947
when he married an American State Department employee, Zillah Rhoades and moved with her to New York.
After working for a few years as fashion illustrator, Gene Gutowski become a TV and film producer and with a few low budget productions to his name, including the TV series I Spy (1955 TV series)
. He moved to London in 1960 to produce Station Six Sahara and to join forces with Roman Polanski
in 1963. In a creative partnership they made Repulsion, Cul-De-Sac and The Fearless Vampire Killers, until Polanski moved to Hollywood under contract to Paramount in 1967.
Pursuing separate paths, though remaining close friends, Gutowski and Polański joined forces again to produce together THE PIANIST an Oscar winning film. Residing in Warsaw, Gene Gutowski has staged several plays and in 2004 published his Polish autobiography "Od Holocaustu do Hollywood (From Holocaust to Hollywood)". The English edition of his autobiography, titled "With Balls and Chutzpah, A Story of Survival", was published in the US in August 2011 by iUniverse, Inc.
- Repulsion
(1965) Producer
- Passion Flower Hotel
(1965) Producer
- Cul-de-sac (1966) Producer
- The Fearless Vampire Killers
(1967) Producer
- The Adventures of Gerard (1968) Writer/Producer
- Romance of a Horsethief (1970) Producer
- A Day at the Beach
(1972) Producer
- The Pianist (2002 film)
Co-Producer
- Doubt: A Parable (2007 stageplay) Producer, in Warsaw, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
(now Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
))
Son of Julius Bardach (Lawyer) and Anna Bardach (Concert Pianist).
Gene Gutowski is most known as a Polish-American film producer
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
having produced many of Roman Polanski
Roman Polanski
Roman Polanski is a French-Polish film director, producer, writer and actor. Having made films in Poland, Britain, France and the USA, he is considered one of the few "truly international filmmakers."...
's films.
Formative Years
Son of Julius and Anna Bardach, Witold Bardach and his family lived in Rawa Ruska from 1933 until the beginning of war in 1939 when the Bardach family moved to Lwów where under Soviet occupation Witold Bardach began his studies as sculptor at the Institute of Plastic Arts.In 1941 the Germans occupied Lwów and a year later his entire family who has lived there for generations was killed, Witold escaped to Warsaw where he took on the name 'Eugene Gutowski'. He first worked for a photographer and later as an employee of the Junkers
Junkers
Junkers Flugzeug- und Motorenwerke AG , more commonly Junkers, was a major German aircraft manufacturer. It produced some of the world's most innovative and best-known airplanes over the course of its fifty-plus year history in Dessau, Germany. It was founded there in 1895 by Hugo Junkers,...
factory at Okęcie Airport, secretly removing Luftwaffe radio-transmitters for delivery to the Polish underground army (Armia Krajowa
Armia Krajowa
The Armia Krajowa , or Home Army, was the dominant Polish resistance movement in World War II German-occupied Poland. It was formed in February 1942 from the Związek Walki Zbrojnej . Over the next two years, it absorbed most other Polish underground forces...
) Escaping from the Gestapo at 18 he became the head of a construction company working for the Organisation Todt
Organisation Todt
The Todt Organisation, was a Third Reich civil and military engineering group in Germany named after its founder, Fritz Todt, an engineer and senior Nazi figure...
in Riga, Latvia and was later evacuated to Germany at the end of 1944.
At the end of war in May 1945, again escaping from the advancing Soviet army, Gene Gutowski joined the US Army Counter Intelligence Corps
Counter Intelligence Corps
The Counter Intelligence Corps was a World War II and early Cold War intelligence agency within the United States Army. Its role was taken over by the U.S. Army Intelligence Corps in 1961 and, in 1967, by the U.S. Army Intelligence Agency...
. Worked as Special Agent out of the Garmisch-Partenkirchen office until March 1947
when he married an American State Department employee, Zillah Rhoades and moved with her to New York.
After working for a few years as fashion illustrator, Gene Gutowski become a TV and film producer and with a few low budget productions to his name, including the TV series I Spy (1955 TV series)
I Spy (1955 TV series)
I Spy is an American television series created by Edward J. Montagne and Phil Reisman Jr. and made by Rean Productions, Inc. andGuild Films. It ran from 1955-1956 for a total of 39 episodes and starred Raymond Massey as Anton, the Spymaster....
. He moved to London in 1960 to produce Station Six Sahara and to join forces with Roman Polanski
Roman Polanski
Roman Polanski is a French-Polish film director, producer, writer and actor. Having made films in Poland, Britain, France and the USA, he is considered one of the few "truly international filmmakers."...
in 1963. In a creative partnership they made Repulsion, Cul-De-Sac and The Fearless Vampire Killers, until Polanski moved to Hollywood under contract to Paramount in 1967.
Pursuing separate paths, though remaining close friends, Gutowski and Polański joined forces again to produce together THE PIANIST an Oscar winning film. Residing in Warsaw, Gene Gutowski has staged several plays and in 2004 published his Polish autobiography "Od Holocaustu do Hollywood (From Holocaust to Hollywood)". The English edition of his autobiography, titled "With Balls and Chutzpah, A Story of Survival", was published in the US in August 2011 by iUniverse, Inc.
Filmography
- Station Six - Sahara (1962) Producer- Repulsion
Repulsion
Repulsion is a 1965 British psychological thriller film directed by Roman Polanski, based on a scenario by Gérard Brach and Roman Polanski. It was Polanski's first English language film, and was shot in Britain, as such being his second film made outside his native Poland. The cast includes...
(1965) Producer
- Passion Flower Hotel
Passion Flower Hotel
The Passion Flower Hotel is a novel by Rosalind Erskine . It was published by Pan Books in 1962. The story concerns a young girl going to an English girls' boarding school. In the dormitory, the girls discuss losing their virginity and decide that the best way is to set up a "service" for the local...
(1965) Producer
- Cul-de-sac (1966) Producer
- The Fearless Vampire Killers
The Fearless Vampire Killers
The Fearless Vampire Killers is a 1967 comedy horror film directed by Roman Polanski, written by Gérard Brach and Polanski, produced by Gene Gutowski and co-starring Polanski with future wife Sharon Tate...
(1967) Producer
- The Adventures of Gerard (1968) Writer/Producer
- Romance of a Horsethief (1970) Producer
- A Day at the Beach
A Day at the Beach
A Day at the Beach is a 1970 film based on the 1962 book Een dagje naar het strand by Dutch author Heere Heeresma. The screenplay was written by Roman Polanski, who was originally intended to be the director, although most of the direction was finally done by first-timer Simon Hesera.-Plot:Set in...
(1972) Producer
- The Pianist (2002 film)
The Pianist (2002 film)
The Pianist is a 2002 biographical war film directed by Roman Polanski, starring Adrien Brody. It is an adaptation of the autobiography of the same name by Jewish-Polish musician Władysław Szpilman...
Co-Producer
- Doubt: A Parable (2007 stageplay) Producer, in Warsaw, Poland