James Bond Producer Harry Saltzman (1915-1994)

By: Anders Frejdh

Published:
2004-09-06

Legendary James Bond film producer Harry Saltzman (1915-1994) passed away in Paris on 28th September, 1994. The cause was a heart attack his wife, Adriana Saltzman, said.

Harry Saltzman, who with Albert R. Broccoli produced early James Bond films like Dr. No (1962) and Goldfinger (1964), died at the American Hospital in Neuilly-sur-Seine, a Paris suburb. He was 78 and lived in a village near Versailles.

Harry was born on October 27, 1915, in Sherbrooke, Canada and emigrated to United States when he was a teenager. He served in the Canadian Air Force during World War II and after being honorably discharged he joined the US OSS (the first organized effort by the US to implement a centralized system of strategic intelligence, and the predecessor to the Central Intelligence Agency and US Special Operations Forces).

He entered the film business in the mid-1940's and made his name in Britain with hard-hitting social dramas, including Look Back in Anger (1959) starring Richard Burton and Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (1960) starring Albert Finney.

Saltzman and Broccoli rounded up the screen rights to practically all of Ian Fleming's James Bond novels (all apart from his first, Casino Royale , which Fleming already had sold the film rights for) and began the film series in the early 1960's. The two struck it rich with the highly profitable movies, most of which starred Sean Connery as secret agent 007.

Their Bond films also included From Russia with Love (1963), Thunderball (1965), You Only Live Twice (1967), On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969), Diamonds Are Forever (1971), Live and Let Die (1973) and The Man with the Golden Gun (1974). The partnership ended in the mid 1970's.

Among Saltzman's other productions were The Entertainer (1960) starring Laurence Olivier, The Ipcress File (1965) starring Michael Caine, Funeral in Berlin (1966) starring Michael Caine, and The Battle of Britain (1969) starring Michael Caine. The last two were directed by legendary James Bond director Guy Hamilton.

In addition to his wife, he is survived by his son, Steven Saltzman, of Paris; two daughters, Hilary Saltzman, of Quebec, Canada, and Merry, of Marina del Rey, California, and a sister, Mina Reizes of Reseda, California.

Photo above:
Harry Saltzman, co-producer of nine Bond films, in his London Office, September 1975. © Mirrorpix. All rights reserved.

Read more about Harry Saltzman's life and career on his Wikipedia page.

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James Bond Producer Harry Saltzman (1915-1994)

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