Zanuck, Darryl Francis, 1902-79, American movie producer, b. Wahoo, Nebr. Beginning his Hollywood career as a scriptwriter, he was hired (1924) by Warner Brothers and made a name for himself penning scripts for Rin Tin Tin dog epics. By 1927 he was an executive producer, initiating the sound era with his production of The Jazz Singer (1927) and responsible for such other classics as Little Caesar (1930), The Public Enemy (1931), and I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932). In 1933 Zanuck cofounded Twentieth Century Films and after it merged (1935) with Fox he became head of production for the new Twentieth Century-Fox. Of all the movie magnates he was probably the most involved with his studio's products, taking an active part in creative and editorial processes. Among the most notable films created during his tenure were The Grapes of Wrath (1940), How Green Was My Valley (1941), Twelve O'Clock High (1949), and All about Eve (1950). He left Fox in 1956 to become an independent producer in Europe, but returned to the studio as its president in 1962, restoring its prosperity with such hits as The Longest Day (1962) and The Sound of Music (1965). The last of the studio tycoons, Zanuck retired in 1971.

(born Sept. 5, 1902, Wahoo, Neb., U.S.—died Dec. 22, 1979, Palm Springs, Calif.) U.S. film producer and executive. He worked as a steelworker, garment factory foreman, and a professional boxer while pursuing his career as a writer, and in 1924 he was hired as a screenwriter for Warner Brothers. After writing scripts for more than 35 movies, he was made a producer. He promoted the conversion to sound by producing The Jazz Singer (1927). In 1933 he cofounded Twentieth Century Pictures, which soon merged with the Fox Film Corp. As the controlling executive of Twentieth Century-Fox, he produced films such as The Grapes of Wrath (1940), Gentleman's Agreement (1947), and Viva Zapata! (1952). He resigned in 1956, but he returned as president in 1962 to effect the company's financial recovery with hits such as The Longest Day (1962), The Sound of Music (1965), and Patton (1970). He retired as chairman in 1971.

Learn more about Zanuck, Darryl F(rancis) with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Darryl Francis Zanuck (September 5, 1902–December 22, 1979) was an Academy Award-winning producer, writer, actor, director, and studio executive who played a major part in the Hollywood studio system as one of its longest survivors (the length of his career being rivalled only by that of Adolph Zukor).

Zanuck was born in Wahoo, Nebraska, the son of Louise Torpin and Frank Zanuck, a hotelier; his last name is of Dutch origin, and his father had Dutch and German ancestry. At six, he and his mother moved to Los Angeles, where the better climate could improve her poor health. At eight, he found his first movie job as an extra, but his disapproving father recalled him back to Nebraska. In 1917, despite being fourteen, he deceived a recruiter and joined the United States Army and served with the Nebraska National Guard in France. Returning to the U.S., he worked in many part-time jobs while he tried to find work as a writer. He managed to find work producing movie plots, selling his first story in 1922 to William Russell and his second to Irving Thalberg. He then worked for Mack Sennett and took that experience to Warner Brothers where he wrote stories for Rin Tin Tin and under a number of pseudonyms wrote over forty scripts from 1924-1929. He moved into management in 1929 and became head of production in 1931.

In 1933 he left Warners to found Twentieth Century Pictures with Joseph Schenck and William Goetz, releasing their material through United Artists. In 1935 they bought out Fox studios to become Twentieth Century-Fox. Zanuck was vice-president of this new studio and took an interventionist approach, closely involved in editing and producing. During the war he worked for the army.

In 1946, Zanuck said, "Television won't be able to hold on to any market it captures after the first six months. People will soon get tired of staring at a plywood box every night."

In the 1950s he withdrew from the studio to concentrate on independent producing in Europe. He left his wife, Virginia Fox Zanuck, in 1956, and several movies he produced featured his girlfriend of moment, including the French singer Juliette Gréco.

He returned to control of Fox in 1962, replacing Spyros Skouras, in a confrontation over the release of Zanuck's production of The Longest Day as the studio struggled to finish the difficult filming of Cleopatra (1963) . He made his son Richard D. Zanuck head of production. He became involved in a power struggle with the board and his son from around 1969. In May 1971 Zanuck was finally forced from 'his' studio.

He died of jaw cancer in Palm Springs, California at the age of 77, and was interred in the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in the Westwood Village section of Los Angeles, California.

For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Darryl F. Zanuck has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6336 Hollywood Blvd and has won 3 Thalberg Awards of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. On the present-day FOX lot, movies are shown in the Zanuck Theater.

Quotes

By Zanuck

• On discovering actress Gene Tierney "undeniably the most beautiful actress in movie history."
• In 1946 Zannuck said "(Television) won't be able to hold on to any market it captures after the first six months. People will soon get tired of staring at a plywood box every night."

About Zanuck

References

• Thackrey Jr., Thomas. (December 23, 1979). "Darryl F. Zanuck, Last of Movie Moguls, Dies at 77". Los Angeles Times, p. 1.

External links