Marvin Worth
Encyclopedia
Marvin Worth was an American
film producer
, screenwriter
and actor
perhaps best known for his efforts to bring the biography of Malcolm X
to the big screen. His efforts spanned from 1967, when he purchased the rights to The Autobiography of Malcolm X
that led to the production of the 1972 documentary
for which he received an Oscar
nomination. Later on, he would help produce Malcolm X
, directed by Spike Lee
.
and Billie Holiday
. Later, Worth's employment as an agent branched into comedy, and he took on the contentious comedian, Lenny Bruce
. In the 1950s, he forged a partnership with Arne Sultan and began writing material for Bruce. The duo went on to pen the scripts for Three on a Couch
and Boys' Night Out
and the story for Promise Her Anything
. In 1958, Worth won a Peabody Award
for his writing on The Steve Allen Show
.
In 1975, Worth brought the story of Lenny Bruce to Broadway in the production Lenny, which won a Tony Award
for its star, Cliff Gorman
. for the remainder of his career, Worth continued to produce biopics including the 1978 film The Rose
(loosely based on Janis Joplin
), the 1996 television movie Norma Jean & Marilyn
, the 1998 television movie
Gia
, and the 2001 television movie James Dean
.
, a form of lung cancer
, in Los Angeles.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
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...
, screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
and actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
perhaps best known for his efforts to bring the biography of Malcolm X
Malcolm X
Malcolm X , born Malcolm Little and also known as El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz , was an African American Muslim minister and human rights activist. To his admirers he was a courageous advocate for the rights of African Americans, a man who indicted white America in the harshest terms for its...
to the big screen. His efforts spanned from 1967, when he purchased the rights to The Autobiography of Malcolm X
The Autobiography of Malcolm X
The Autobiography of Malcolm X was published in 1965, the result of a collaboration between Malcolm X and journalist Alex Haley. Haley coauthored the autobiography based on a series of in-depth interviews he conducted between 1963 and Malcolm X's 1965 assassination...
that led to the production of the 1972 documentary
Malcolm X (1972 film)
Malcolm X is a 1972 American documentary film directed by Arnold Perl. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature....
for which he received an Oscar
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
nomination. Later on, he would help produce Malcolm X
Malcolm X (film)
Malcolm X is a 1992 biographical motion picture about the Muslim-American figure Malcolm X . It was co-written, co-produced, and directed by Spike Lee. It stars Denzel Washington as the titular character. It co-stars Angela Bassett, Albert Hall, Al Freeman, Jr., and Delroy Lindo...
, directed by Spike Lee
Spike Lee
Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee is an American film director, producer, writer, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks, has produced over 35 films since 1983....
.
Early life and career
Worth's career began at a very early age when he began promoting jazz concerts, which led to relationship with many artists. At one time, he managed the musical careers of Charlie ParkerCharlie Parker
Charles Parker, Jr. , famously called Bird or Yardbird, was an American jazz saxophonist and composer....
and Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday was an American jazz singer and songwriter. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and musical partner Lester Young, Holiday had a seminal influence on jazz and pop singing...
. Later, Worth's employment as an agent branched into comedy, and he took on the contentious comedian, Lenny Bruce
Lenny Bruce
Leonard Alfred Schneider , better known by the stage name Lenny Bruce, was a Jewish-American comedian, social critic and satirist...
. In the 1950s, he forged a partnership with Arne Sultan and began writing material for Bruce. The duo went on to pen the scripts for Three on a Couch
Three On A Couch
Three on a Couch is a comedy film directed by and starring Jerry Lewis.Filmed from September 13-December 1, 1965, it was released on July 7, 1966 by Columbia Pictures. Co-starring are Janet Leigh, James Best, Mary Ann Mobley and Kathleen Freeman....
and Boys' Night Out
Boys' Night Out (film)
Boys' Night Out is an American comedy film released in 1962, starring Kim Novak, James Garner, and Tony Randall, and directed by Michael Gordon...
and the story for Promise Her Anything
Promise Her Anything
Promise Her Anything is a 1965 British romantic comedy film directed by Arthur Hiller. The screenplay by William Peter Blatty is based on a story by Arne Sultan and Marvin Worth.-Plot:...
. In 1958, Worth won a Peabody Award
Peabody Award
The George Foster Peabody Awards recognize distinguished and meritorious public service by radio and television stations, networks, producing organizations and individuals. In 1939, the National Association of Broadcasters formed a committee to recognize outstanding achievement in radio broadcasting...
for his writing on The Steve Allen Show
The Steve Allen Show
The Steve Allen Show is an American variety show hosted by Steve Allen from June 1956 to June 1960 on NBC, from September 1961 to December 1961 on ABC, and in first-run syndication from 1962 to 1964....
.
In 1975, Worth brought the story of Lenny Bruce to Broadway in the production Lenny, which won a Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
for its star, Cliff Gorman
Cliff Gorman
Cliff Gorman was an American stage and screen actor. He won an Obie award in 1968 for the stage presentation of The Boys in the Band, and went on to reprise his role in the 1970 film version....
. for the remainder of his career, Worth continued to produce biopics including the 1978 film The Rose
The Rose (film)
The Rose is a 1979 American musical drama film which tells the story of a self-destructive 1960s rock star who struggles to cope with the constant pressures of her career and the demands of her ruthless business manager...
(loosely based on Janis Joplin
Janis Joplin
Janis Lyn Joplin was an American singer, songwriter, painter, dancer and music arranger. She rose to prominence in the late 1960s as the lead singer of Big Brother and the Holding Company and later as a solo artist with her backing groups, The Kozmic Blues Band and The Full Tilt Boogie Band...
), the 1996 television movie Norma Jean & Marilyn
Norma Jean & Marilyn
Norma Jean & Marilyn is a 1996 made-for-TV biographical film produced by Home Box Office and premiered on May 18, 1996. The film featured Ashley Judd as Norma Jean Dougherty and Mira Sorvino as Marilyn Monroe...
, the 1998 television movie
Television movie
A television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to...
Gia
Gia
Gia is a 1998 biographical television film about the life of model Gia Marie Carangi starring Angelina Jolie, Faye Dunaway, Mercedes Ruehl, and Elizabeth Mitchell. It was directed by Michael Cristofer and written by Cristofer and Jay McInerney...
, and the 2001 television movie James Dean
James Dean (film)
James Dean is a 2001 biographical television film based on the life of the American actor of the same name. James Franco plays James Dean under the direction of Mark Rydell, who chronicles Dean's rise from a struggling actor to an A-list movie star in 1950s Hollywood...
.
Personal life and death
Worth was married to his wife Joan, an artist, for 44 years. They had three children. On April 22, 1998, Worth died of bronchioloalveolar carcinomaBronchioloalveolar carcinoma
Bronchioloalveolar carcinoma is a term describing certain variants of lung cancer arising in the distal bronchioles or alveoli that initially exhibit a specific non-invasive growth pattern.-Classification:...
, a form of lung cancer
Lung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
, in Los Angeles.
Producer
- Where's Poppa?Where's Poppa?Where's Poppa? is a 1970 black comedy film based on the novel by Robert Klane starring George Segal, Ron Leibman and Ruth Gordon. The plot revolves around the troubled relationship between a lawyer son played by Segal and his senile mother played by Gordon...
(1970) - Up the AcademyUp the AcademyMAD Magazine Presents Up the Academy is an American teen comedy film released in 1980, with a plot about the outrageous antics of a group of misfits at a military school.-Production:...
(1980) - Soup for OneSoup For One (film)Soup For One is a 1982 sexually-themed romantic comedy that was directed and written by Jonathan Kaufer and produced by Marvin Worth. The R-rated film was released by Warner Bros. Pictures...
(1982) - Falling in Love (1984)
- Less Than ZeroLess Than Zero (film)Less Than Zero is a 1987 American drama film loosely based on Bret Easton Ellis' novel of the same name. The film stars Andrew McCarthy as Clay, a college freshman returning home for Christmas to spend time with his ex-girlfriend Blair and his friend Julian , who is also a drug addict...
(1987) - See No Evil, Hear No EvilSee No Evil, Hear No EvilSee No Evil, Hear No Evil is a 1989 American comedy film directed by Arthur Hiller and produced by Marvin Worth for TriStar Pictures. It stars Richard Pryor as a blind man and Gene Wilder as a deaf man who work together to thwart a band of murderous thieves.-Plot summary:A blind man named Wally...
(1989) - Flashback (1990)
- DiaboliqueDiabolique (1996 film)Diabolique is an American film directed by Jeremiah S. Chechik and written by Henri-Georges Clouzot and Don Roos. The film stars Sharon Stone and Isabelle Adjani...
(1996)
Writer
- The Polly Bergen ShowThe Polly Bergen ShowThe Polly Bergen Show is a half-hour 18-episode comedy/variety show, starring then 27-year-old Polly Bergen, which aired on NBC in the 1957-1958 television season. The program is remembered for its impressive guest-star lineup as well as its closing theme song, "The Party's Over" .The Polly Bergen...
(Unknown episodes, 1957-1958) - The Dinah Shore Chevy ShowThe Dinah Shore Chevy ShowThe Dinah Shore Chevy Show is an American variety series hosted by Dinah Shore, and broadcast on NBC from October 1956 to June 1963. The series was sponsored by the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors and its theme song, sung by Shore, was "See the U.S.A...
(1 episode, 1958) - The Ann Sothern ShowThe Ann Sothern ShowThe Ann Sothern Show is an American sitcom starring Ann Sothern that aired on CBS for 93 episodes. The series began on October 6, 1958, and ended on September 25, 1961. The Ann Sothern Show was Sothern's second sitcom for CBS...
(Unknown episodes, 1958) - Get SmartGet SmartGet Smart is an American comedy television series that satirizes the secret agent genre. Created by Mel Brooks with Buck Henry, the show starred Don Adams , Barbara Feldon , and Edward Platt...
(2 episodes, 1965)
Award nominations
| Year | Award | Result | Category | Film or series |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | Academy Award | Nominated | Best Documentary, Features Academy Award for Documentary Feature The Academy Award for Documentary Feature is among the most prestigious awards for documentary films.- Winners and nominees:Following the Academy's practice, films are listed below by the award year... |
Malcolm X (Shared with Arnold Perl) |
| 1975 | Best Picture Academy Award for Best Picture The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to artists working in the motion picture industry. The Best Picture category is the only category in which every member of the Academy is eligible not only... |
Lenny | ||
| 1998 | Emmy Award Emmy Award An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various... |
Outstanding Made for Television Movie Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Made for Television Movie This is a list of the winners of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Made for Television Movie, which is awarded since 1992. The category was originally called Outstanding Drama/Comedy Special.-1980s:*1980: The Miracle Worker... |
Gia (Shared with James D. Brubaker James D. Brubaker James D. Brubaker is an American film producer, production manager, and film actor.Brubaker was born in Hollywood, Los Angeles in the United States... , David R. Ginsburg, and Ilene Kahn) |
|
| 1985 | Golden Raspberry Award | Worst Picture Razzie Award for Worst Picture The Razzie Award for Worst Picture is an award given out at the annual Golden Raspberry Awards to the worst film of the past year. Following is a list of nominees and recipients of that award, including each film's distribution company and producer.-1980s:... |
Rhinestone Rhinestone (film) Rhinestone is a 1984 comedy film directed by Bob Clark with a screenplay by Sylvester Stallone and Phil Alden Robinson; the film stars Stallone and Dolly Parton.-Plot:... (Shared with Howard Smith) |