Jennings Lang (May 28, 1915, New York City – May 29, 1996, Palm Desert, California) was an American film producer, screenwriter, and actor.
Early life and career Lang was born to a Jewish familyErens, Patricia. The Jew in American Cinema. | | Publisher: Indiana University Press | Publish Date: August 1988 | p. 392 in New York City. Originally a lawyer, practicing in New York City, Lang came to Hollywood in 1938. The following spring, he set up an office as a talent agent, together with his future wife, Flora Pam."Chatter: Hollywood". Variety. May 31, 1939. p. 45. "Flora Pam and Jennings Bentley Bang [sic] opening new talent agency." Retrieved August 6, 2022. In 1940 Lang joined the Jaffe agency and within a few years became the company's president, and came to be known as one of Hollywood's leading agents.
In 1950 he joined the MCA talent agency and two years later became vice president of MCA TV Limited; in this capacity, he worked with MCA's subsidiary Revue Productions involved in developing, creating, and selling new series in the 1950s and '60s, such as Wagon Train, The Bob Cummings Show, and McHale's Navy. He produced and executive-produced movies from 1969 to 1986; in the mid-1970s, Lang produced a series of major epics, including Airport 1975 and Earthquake; both pictures becoming major blockbusters in the disaster film genre.
Personal life In 1940, Lang married fellow publicist Flora Pam Friedheim, with whom he fathered two sons, including jazz pianist/studio musician Mike Lang. In December 1951, Lang was shot in the left inner thigh by film producer Walter Wanger,Autobiography of Monica Lewis: "Hollywood Through My Eyes" (Brule, WI, Cable Publishing, 2011) p. 162 who believed Lang was having an affair with his wife, actress Joan Bennett.* Lang survived, and Wanger, pleading insanity, served four months in prison."Wanger Fate Will Rest on Transcript: Producer to Escape Open Trial by Letting Judge Decide Case on Grand Jury Evidence". Los Angeles Times, April 15, 1952, p. 1."Wanger to Be Released From County Jail Today". Los Angeles Times, September 13, 1952, p. A 1. Although Mrs. Lang publicly supported her husband,"Joan Bennett Denies Love Tryst With Agent". The San Francisco Examiner. December 15, 1951. p. 5. Retrieved August 22, 2022. one reporter who had covered the original scandal, Will Fowler,Weinstock, Matt (January 3, 1952). "Miracle Men". Los Angeles Daily News. p. 24. Retrieved August 7, 2022. recalled: But the one person who was only fleetingly mentioned in the torrid front page affair, the one who publicly stated that she refused to believe her husband had been unfaithful, Mrs. Pam Lang, was driven into deep depression and a few months after the story quieted down, she died of a heart attack.Fowler, Will (1991). Reporters: Memoir of a Young Newspaperman. Malibu, CA: Roundtable Publishing. pp. 289–307. . In 1956 Lang married actress-singer Monica Lewis and fathered one more son. The couple remained married until Lang's death in 1996.
Last years and death A stroke in 1983 forced Lang's retirement. He died of pneumonia in 1996 in Palm Desert, California. Lang was survived by his wife Monica Lewis and three sons, two by his previous marriage.
Filmography Producer
Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here (1969) Act of the Heart (1970) The Beguiled (1971) They Might Be Giants (1971) Play Misty for Me (1971) Slaughterhouse-Five (1972) The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid (1972) Pete 'n' Tillie (1972) High Plains Drifter (1973) Charley Varrick (1973) Breezy (1973) Airport 1975 (1974) Earthquake (1974)
The Front Page (1974) Swashbuckler (1976) Airport '77 (1977) Rollercoaster (1977) House Calls (1978) Nunzio (1978) The Concorde ... Airport '79 (1979) House Calls (1979, TV series) The Nude Bomb (1980) Little Miss Marker (1980) Masada (1981, TV miniseries) The Sting II (1983) Stick (1985)
Presenter Play Misty for Me (1971) The Eiger Sanction (1975)
Screenwriter The Concorde ... Airport '79 (1979)
Actor Real Life (1979)
References
Further reading Fowler, Will (1991). Reporters: Memoir of a Young Newspaperman. Malibu, CA: Roundtable Publishing. . pp. 289–307.
External links
Jennings Lang at Yahoo! Movies