David A. Permut (born March 23, 1954) is an American film producer. He has worked on dozens of films, and has received both Academy and Emmy Award nominations.
Early life and education Permut was born in New York City, New York to a Jewish family, the son of entrepreneur Lee Permut. His family moved from Manhattan to Los Angeles while he was a teen. While a youth, he sold maps to the Hollywood homes of the stars and later mixed with them at the Palm Springs Racquet Club and the Tennis Club, after his father purchased a second home in Palm Springs in the 1970s. He was introduced to producer Bill Sargent through family who helped him secure some casting calls. Permut then went to work as a gofer for Roger Corman while he was taking classes at UCLA and later accepted a job at an independent talent agency in Beverly Hills.
Career Feature films
Early in his career, Permut produced the 1975 film Give 'em Hell, Harry!, which was his first producer credit. Shortly afterwards, he co-produced the 1979 comedy concert film Richard Pryor: Live in Concert, which was considered one of the first major theatrical stand-up comedy films, with Bill Sargent. He went on to produce the 1987 films Dragnet and Blind Date. In 1986, he then signed a production agreement with United Artists, where he is planning on to produce films like an adaptation of the 1950s TV show Highway Patrol, but it never came to fruition. He later produced the John Woo film Face/Off.
In 1991, Permut signed a three-year first look development and production deal with New Line Cinema, which resulted in his production company, Permut Productions, becoming a subsidiary of New Line Cinema.
He has produced a number of other films, including 1991's The Marrying Man and 29th Street, 1992's Captain Ron and Consenting Adults, 1993's The Temp, 1994's Surviving the Game, and others. 29th Street (1991) released by Twentieth Century Fox, Permut worked with Bob Saget on the March of the Penguins parody film Farce of the Penguins in 2007. He produced the 2016 film Hacksaw Ridge, which was premiered at the Venice Film Festival. It was nominated for six Academy Awards including Best Picture.
In addition to studio films, Permut has produced a number of independent films including Charlie Bartlett, Youth in Revolt, Struck by Lightning, and Match.
Other independent films Permut has produced include The Polka King, which premiered at the Sundance film festival, and starring Jack Black, and Punching Henry, which debuted at SXSW.
Permut was the co-producer alongside Ben Stiller of the 2009 documentary The Boys: The Sherman Brothers' Story, and later The Fabulous Allan Carr. In 2010, Permut also produced the five-part documentary series Visible: Out on Television for Apple TV+.
In 2019, Permut produced The Investigation: A Search for the Truth, a live staged reading of excerpts from the Mueller Report, with a cast that included John Lithgow, Kevin Kline, and Zachary Quinto.
Permut produced the feature film Twinless, written, directed by, and starring James Sweeney and co-starring Dylan O’Brien, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2025. The film received the Sundance 2025 U.S. Dramatic Audience Award, as well as the U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Dylan O’Brien.
Permut also executive produced the documentary, Raoul Wallenberg: Missing Inaction, which premiered at the Palm Springs International Film Festival in 2026.
Permut also produced the Apple Original Film Being Heumann, which was based on the memoir by Judy Heumann, was directed by Siân Heder, and starred Mark Ruffalo, Ruth Madeley, and Dylan O’ Brien.
Television
His television credits include 1984's Love Leads the Way, 1987’s Mistress, 1991's A Triumph of the Heart: The Ricky Bell Story, 1992's Breaking the Silence, 2009's Emmy-nominated and GLAAD Award-winning Prayers for Bobby, 2014's The Color of Rain, and 2023's series Lawman: Bass Reeves.
Theatre
He has done theatre production, including the stage production of The Investigation: A Search for the Truth in Ten Acts. He is slated to produce the Broadway theatre stage production Behind the Candelabra.
Personal life , Permut has lived in Westwood, California. He has a second home in Palm Springs.
Filmography He was a producer in all films unless otherwise noted.
Film Year Film Credit Notes 1975 Give 'em Hell, Harry! 1979Richard Pryor: Live in ConcertProducer 1982 Fighting Back 1987 Blind Date Co-executive producer Dragnet Producer 1991 The Marrying Man Producer 29th Street Producer 1992 Captain Ron Producer Consenting Adults Producer 1993 The Temp Producer Three of Hearts Executive producer Money for Nothing Executive producer 1994 Surviving the Game Producer Trapped in Paradise Executive producer 1996 Eddie Producer 1997 Face/Off Producer 2001 Double Take Producer 2002 Route 52 Producer 2003DyFunktional Family Producer 2004 The Last Shot 2006 Local Color Producer Farce of the Penguins Producer 2007 Charlie Bartlett Producer 2008 My Mom's New Boyfriend Executive producer 2009 Youth in Revolt Producer 2012 Struck by Lightning Producer 2014 Match Producer 2016 Punching Henry Producer Hacksaw Ridge Producer 2017 The Polka King Producer 2019 The Investigation: A Search for the Truth in Ten Acts Producer 2023 Rustin Executive Producer 2025 Twinless Producer 2025Raoul Wallenberg: Missing Inaction Executive Producer2025Being HeumannProducer2025The InviteProducer 2026 Being Heumann Producer 2026 The Invite Producer Untitled Face/Off Sequel Executive producer
Camera and electrical department
Year Film Role 1973 The Student Teachers Film loader
Miscellaneous crew
Year Film Role 1973 Your Three Minutes Are Up Production assistant
Television Year Title Credit Notes 1984 Love Leads the Way: A True Story Executive producer Television film His Mistress Television film 1987 Mistress Supervising producer Television film 1991 A Triumph of the Heart: The Ricky Bell Story Television film 1992 Breaking the Silence Executive producer Television film 2009 Prayers for Bobby Executive producer Television film 2014 The Color of Rain Executive producer Television film 2020 Visible: Out on Television Principal producer Television documentary series 2023 Lawmen: Bass Reeves Executive producer Television series
References
External links