Sam Zimbalist (March 31, 1901 – November 4, 1958) was an American film producer and film editor.
Early life Born to a Jewish family,"Whither Quo Vadis?: Sienkiewicz's Novel in Film and Television" By Ruth Scodel and Anja Bettenworth p. 215 Zimbalist began his career at 16 as an office boy to Metro Studios president Richard A. Rowland. He began to do some editing in his spare time when films needed to be trimmed to meet censorship requirements.
He became friends with actress Alla Nazimova, who was under contract to Metro and told her of his desire to be a full editor. She invited him out to Hollywood in 1920 to become second assistant editor on her films. In 1923, when Nazimova's contract with Metro ended, he returned with her to New York and became her assistant stage manager on Broadway.
Film editor In 1924, Zimbalist returned to Los Angeles seeking film work. Metro pictures had merged with Sam Goldwyn's company to become MGM. Zimbalist went to work for them as an assistant editor and soon worked his way up to full editor. He edited the 1925 version of The Wizard of Oz. Among the films he edited at MGM were Lon Chaney's While the City Sleeps (1928), Alias Jimmy Valentine, the studio's first sound film, and The Broadway Melody (1929), the first sound musical.
Film producer He was promoted to assistant producer in 1929, working for Hunt Stromberg and became a producer on his own in 1936, with Married Before Breakfast.
He produced films including Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944), the story of the Doolittle Raiders, King Solomon's Mines (1950) and Quo Vadis (1951). The latter two both received Academy Award nominations for Best Picture. Quo Vadis was MGM's second-highest-grossing film at the time behind Gone with the Wind and MGM's most profitable film of the era with worldwide rentals of $23 million on a cost of $7 million.
Based on the success of Quo Vadis, he was made producer of MGM's most elaborate production until that time, the 1959 epic Ben-Hur.
He received a posthumous Academy Award for Ben-Hur, becoming the first person to win Best Picture posthumously. His Oscar was accepted by his widow Mary Zimbalist, who made a speech in honor of her husband. Ben-Hur was even more profitable than Quo Vadis becoming MGM's second-highest-grossing film at the time (again, behind Gone With the Wind) making Zimbalist the producer of the second- and third-highest-grossing films at the studio.
Personal life Zimbalist married Margaret C. Donovan in 1924. They divorced in 1950. He then married Mary Taylor, a former fashion model and actress, in 1952.
Death On November 4, 1958, Zimbalist collapsed suddenly of a heart attack on set in Rome, Italy, during filming of Ben-Hur. He was taken to his villa where he died.
He was buried at the Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery in Culver City, California, and left an estate of $500,000.
Selected filmography The Wizard of Oz (1925) – editor The Dome Doctor (1925) (short) – editor The Cloudhopper (1925) (short) – editor The Unchastened Woman (1925) – editor Johnny Get Your Hair Cut (1927) – editor The Bugle Call (1927) – editor Foreign Devils (1927) – editor Buttons (1927) – editor Baby Mine (1928) – editor The Smart Set (1928) – editor Diamond Handcuffs (1928) – editor The Adventurer (1928) – editor While the City Sleeps (1928) – editor Alias Jimmy Valentine (1928) – editor Gus Edwards' Song Revue (1929) (short) – editor The Broadway Melody (1929) – editor Song of the Roses (1929) (short) – editor Our Modern Maidens (1929) – editor Tarzan Escapes (1936) – associate producer Married Before Breakfast (1937) – producer London by Night (1937) – producer Navy Blue and Gold (1937) – producer Paradise for Three (1938) – producer The Crowd Roars (1938) – producer Tarzan Finds a Son (1939) – producer Lady of the Tropics (1939) – producer These Glamour Girls (1939) – producer Boom Town (1940) – producer Tortilla Flat (1940) – producer 30 Seconds Over Tokyo (1944) – producer Adventure (1945) – producer Killer McCoy (1947) – producer Side Street (1949) – producer King Solomon's Mines (1950) – producer Too Young to Kiss (1951) – producer Quo Vadis? (1951) – producer Mogambo (1953) – producer Beau Brummell (1954) – producer Tribute to a Bad Man (1956) – producer The Catered Affair (1956) – producer The Barretts of Wimpole Street (1957) – producer I Accuse! (1959) – producer Ben-Hur (1959) – producer
Unmade films adaptation of Robinson Crusoe (1947) with Spencer Tracy and later Stewart Granger
References
External links
Allmovie bio