Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Pandro Samuel Berman (March 28, 1905 β July 13, 1996), also known as Pan Berman, was an American film producer.
Berman was an assistant director during the 1920s under Mal St. Clair and Ralph Ince. In 1930, Berman was hired as a film editor at RKO Radio Pictures, then became an assistant producer. When RKO supervising producer William LeBaron walked out during production of the ill-fated The Gay Diplomat (1931), Berman took over LeBaron's responsibilities, remaining in the post until 1939.
After David O. Selznick became chief of production at RKO in October 1931, Berman managed to survive Selznick's general firing of most of the staff. Selznick named Berman producer for the adaptation of Fannie Hurst's short story Night Bell, a tale of a Jewish doctor's rise out of the Lower East Side ghetto to the height of becoming a Park Avenue physician, which Selznick personally retitled Symphony of Six Million. He ordered Berman to have references to ethnic life in the Jewish ghetto restored. The movie was a box-office and critical success. Both Selznick and Berman were proud of the picture, with Berman later saying it was the "first good movie" he had produced.
The Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers musicals were in production during the Berman regime, Katharine Hepburn rose to prominence, and such RKO classics as The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Gunga Din (both 1939) were completed.
Upset when an RKO power play diminished his authority, Berman left for MGM in 1940, where he oversaw such productions as Ziegfeld Girl (1941), National Velvet (1944), The Bribe (1949), Father of the Bride (1950), Blackboard Jungle (1955) and Butterfield 8 (1960).
He survived several executive shake-ups at MGM and remained there until 1963, then went into independent production, closing out his career with the unsuccessful Move (1970).
Berman was the winner of the 1976 Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award. Six of his films were nominated for Academy Award for Best Picture: The Gay Divorcee (1934), Alice Adams and Top Hat (both 1935), Stage Door (1937), Father of the Bride (1950), and Ivanhoe (1952).
Berman died of congestive heart failure on July 13, 1996 in his Beverly Hills home, aged 91. He was buried at the Hillside Memorial Park, Culver City, California.
Filmography
all 130
Movies 128
Producer 107
self 9
Director 3
TV Shows 2
Magician: The Astonishing Life and Work of Orson Welles (2014)
Astaire and Rogers: Partners in Rhythm (2006)
On Top: Inside the Success of 'Top Hat' (2005)
On Location with Gunga Din (2004)
The RKO Story: Tales From Hollywood (1987)
George Stevens: A Filmmaker's Journey (1985)
Starring Katharine Hepburn (1981)
Move (1970)
Justine (1969)
A Patch of Blue (1965)
A Cinderella Named Elizabeth (1965)
Honeymoon Hotel (1964)
The Prize (1963)
Sweet Bird of Youth (1962)
BUtterfield 8 (1960)
All the Fine Young Cannibals (1960)
The Reluctant Debutante (1958)
The Brothers Karamazov (1958)
Jailhouse Rock (1957)
Something of Value (1957)
Tea and Sympathy (1956)
Bhowani Junction (1956)
Quentin Durward (1955)
Blackboard Jungle (1955)
The Long, Long Trailer (1954)
Knights of the Round Table (1953)
All the Brothers Were Valiant (1953)
The Oscars (1953)
Battle Circus (1953)
The Prisoner of Zenda (1952)
Ivanhoe (1952)
The Light Touch (1951)
Father's Little Dividend (1951)
Soldiers Three (1951)
Father of the Bride (1950)
The Doctor and the Girl (1949)
Madame Bovary (1949)
The Bribe (1949)
The Three Musketeers (1948)
If Winter Comes (1947)
Living in a Big Way (1947)
The Sea of Grass (1947)
Undercurrent (1946)
The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945)
National Velvet (1945)
The Seventh Cross (1944)
Dragon Seed (1944)
Slightly Dangerous (1943)
Somewhere I'll Find You (1942)
Rio Rita (1942)
Love Crazy (1941)
Ziegfeld Girl (1941)
The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939)
Allegheny Uprising (1939)
5th Ave Girl (1939)
In Name Only (1939)
Bachelor Mother (1939)
The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle (1939)
Gunga Din (1939)
Room Service (1938)
Carefree (1938)
Having Wonderful Time (1938)
Vivacious Lady (1938)
A Damsel in Distress (1937)
Stage Door (1937)
Shall We Dance (1937)
The Soldier and the Lady (1937)
Quality Street (1937)
That Girl from Paris (1936)
Winterset (1936)
A Woman Rebels (1936)
The Big Game (1936)
Swing Time (1936)
Mary of Scotland (1936)
Follow the Fleet (1936)
Muss 'em Up (1936)
Sylvia Scarlett (1935)
I Dream Too Much (1935)
In Person (1935)
Freckles (1935)
Top Hat (1935)
Alice Adams (1935)
Break of Hearts (1935)
Star of Midnight (1935)
Laddie (1935)
Roberta (1935)
Romance in Manhattan (1935)
The Little Minister (1934)
By Your Leave (1934)
Wednesday's Child (1934)
The Gay Divorcee (1934)
Gridiron Flash (1934)
The Richest Girl in the World (1934)
The Age of Innocence (1934)
Down to Their Last Yacht (1934)
The Fountain (1934)
Their Big Moment (1934)
His Greatest Gamble (1934)
Bachelor Bait (1934)
Hat, Coat and Glove (1934)
Of Human Bondage (1934)
We're Rich Again (1934)
Let's Try Again (1934)
Cockeyed Cavaliers (1934)
Murder on the Blackboard (1934)
The Life of Vergie Winters (1934)
Stingaree (1934)
Where Sinners Meet (1934)
Strictly Dynamite (1934)
This Man Is Mine (1934)
Spitfire (1934)
Man of Two Worlds (1934)
Aggie Appleby, Maker of Men (1933)
Ann Vickers (1933)
Morning Glory (1933)
Bed of Roses (1933)
The Silver Cord (1933)
Sweepings (1933)
Christopher Strong (1933)
The Monkey's Paw (1933)
The Half-Naked Truth (1932)
The Age of Consent (1932)
What Price Hollywood? (1932)
Symphony of Six Million (1932)
Trial Marriage (1929)
Texas Tornado (1928)
The Phantom of the Range (1928)
Find Your Man (1924)
Money to Burns (1924)
Fighting Blood (1923)
Ratings
Information
Known ForProduction
GenderMale
Birthday1905-03-28
Deathday1996-07-13 (91 years old)
Birth PlacePittsburgh, United States of America
CitizenshipsUnited States of America
Also Known AsPandro Samuel Berman, Pandro Berman, Pan Berman
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