About

Known credits:
120
Birthday:
1905-03-28
Place of birth:
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
Website:
N/A

Pandro S. Berman

Overview

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Pandro Samuel Berman (March 28, 1905 – July 13, 1996), also known as Pan Berman, was an American film producer.

Berman was an assistant director during the 1920s under Mal St. Clair and Ralph Ince. In 1930, Berman was hired as a film editor at RKO Radio Pictures, then became an assistant producer. When RKO supervising producer William LeBaron walked out during production of the ill-fated The Gay Diplomat (1931), Berman took over LeBaron's responsibilities, remaining in the post until 1939.

After David O. Selznick became chief of production at RKO in October 1931, Berman managed to survive Selznick's general firing of most of the staff. Selznick named Berman producer for the adaptation of Fannie Hurst's short story Night Bell, a tale of a Jewish doctor's rise out of the Lower East Side ghetto to the height of becoming a Park Avenue physician, which Selznick personally retitled Symphony of Six Million. He ordered Berman to have references to ethnic life in the Jewish ghetto restored. The movie was a box-office and critical success. Both Selznick and Berman were proud of the picture, with Berman later saying it was the "first good movie" he had produced.

The Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers musicals were in production during the Berman regime, Katharine Hepburn rose to prominence, and such RKO classics as The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Gunga Din (both 1939) were completed.

Upset when an RKO power play diminished his authority, Berman left for MGM in 1940, where he oversaw such productions as Ziegfeld Girl (1941), National Velvet (1944), The Bribe (1949), Father of the Bride (1950), Blackboard Jungle (1955) and Butterfield 8 (1960).

He survived several executive shake-ups at MGM and remained there until 1963, then went into independent production, closing out his career with the unsuccessful Move (1970).

Berman was the winner of the 1976 Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award. Six of his films were nominated for Academy Award for Best Picture: The Gay Divorcee (1934), Alice Adams and Top Hat (both 1935), Stage Door (1937), Father of the Bride (1950), and Ivanhoe (1952).

Berman died of congestive heart failure on July 13, 1996 in his Beverly Hills home, aged 91. He was buried at the Hillside Memorial Park, Culver City, California.

Known for

Acting
2014 Magician: The Astonishing Life and Work of Orson Welles Actor Self - Producer (archive footage) 59
Average
2006 Astaire and Rogers: Partners in Rhythm Actor Self (archive footage) 59
Average
2004 On Location with Gunga Din Actor Self N/A
N/A
1985 George Stevens: A Filmmaker's Journey Actor Self 58
Average
1965 A Cinderella Named Elizabeth Actor Self 59
Average

Directing
1924 Find Your Man Directing Assistant Director 59
Average
1924 Money to Burns Directing Assistant Director N/A
N/A
1923 Fighting Blood Directing Assistant Director N/A
N/A

Production
1970 Move Production Producer 58
Average
1969 Justine Production Producer 58
Average
1965 A Patch of Blue Production Producer 61
Fair
1964 Honeymoon Hotel Production Producer 58
Average
1963 The Prize Production Producer 60
Fair
1962 Sweet Bird of Youth Production Producer 60
Fair
1960 BUtterfield 8 Production Producer 59
Average
1960 All the Fine Young Cannibals Production Producer 58
Average
1958 The Reluctant Debutante Production Producer 59
Average
1958 The Brothers Karamazov Production Producer 59
Average
1957 Jailhouse Rock Production Producer 59
Average
1957 Something of Value Production Producer 58
Average
1956 Tea and Sympathy Production Producer 60
Fair
1956 Bhowani Junction Production Producer 58
Average
1955 Quentin Durward Production Producer 58
Average
1955 Blackboard Jungle Production Producer 61
Fair
1954 The Long, Long Trailer Production Producer 59
Average
1953 Knights of the Round Table Production Producer 58
Average
1953 All the Brothers Were Valiant Production Producer 59
Average
1953 Battle Circus Production Producer 58
Average
1952 The Prisoner of Zenda Production Producer 59
Average
1952 Ivanhoe Production Producer 61
Fair
1951 The Light Touch Production Producer 58
Average
1951 Father's Little Dividend Production Producer 59
Average
1951 Soldiers Three Production Producer 58
Average
1950 Father of the Bride Production Producer 62
Fair
1949 The Doctor and the Girl Production Producer 59
Average
1949 Madame Bovary Production Producer 59
Average
1949 The Bribe Production Producer 59
Average
1948 The Three Musketeers Production Producer 60
Fair
1947 Living in a Big Way Production Producer 58
Average
1947 The Sea of Grass Production Producer 59
Average
1946 Undercurrent Production Producer 58
Average
1945 The Picture of Dorian Gray Production Producer 63
Fair
1945 National Velvet Production Producer 61
Fair
1944 The Seventh Cross Production Producer 59
Average
1944 Dragon Seed Production Producer 59
Average
1943 Slightly Dangerous Production Producer 59
Average
1942 Somewhere I'll Find You Production Producer 59
Average
1942 Rio Rita Production Producer 58
Average
1941 Love Crazy Production Producer 59
Average
1941 Ziegfeld Girl Production Producer 59
Average
1939 The Hunchback of Notre Dame Production Producer 62
Fair
1939 Allegheny Uprising Production Executive In Charge Of Production 58
Average
1939 5th Ave Girl Production Executive In Charge Of Production 59
Average
1939 In Name Only Production Executive In Charge Of Production 60
Fair
1939 Bachelor Mother Production Executive In Charge Of Production 60
Fair
1939 The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle Production Executive In Charge Of Production 59
Average
1939 Gunga Din Production Production Manager 60
Fair
1938 The Mad Miss Manton Production Executive In Charge Of Production 59
Average
1938 Room Service Production Producer 60
Fair
1938 Carefree Production Producer 59
Average
1938 Having Wonderful Time Production Executive In Charge Of Production 58
Average
1938 Vivacious Lady Production Executive In Charge Of Production 59
Average
1937 A Damsel in Distress Production Producer 59
Average
1937 Stage Door Production Producer 60
Fair
1937 Shall We Dance Production Producer 61
Fair
1937 The Soldier and the Lady Production Producer 59
Average
1937 Quality Street Production Producer 58
Average
1936 That Girl from Paris Production Producer 59
Average
1936 Winterset Production Producer 59
Average
1936 The Big Game Production Producer 59
Average
1936 Swing Time Production Producer 61
Fair
1936 Mary of Scotland Production Producer 59
Average
1936 Follow the Fleet Production Producer 60
Fair
1936 Muss 'em Up Production Producer 59
Average
1935 Sylvia Scarlett Production Producer 59
Average
1935 I Dream Too Much Production Producer 58
Average
1935 In Person Production Producer 59
Average
1935 Top Hat Production Producer 64
Fair
1935 Alice Adams Production Producer 59
Average
1935 Break of Hearts Production Producer 59
Average
1935 Roberta Production Producer 59
Average
1935 Romance in Manhattan Production Producer 59
Average
1934 The Little Minister Production Producer 58
Average
1934 By Your Leave Production Producer 58
Average
1934 Wednesday's Child Production Executive Producer 58
Average
1934 The Gay Divorcee Production Producer 60
Fair
1934 Gridiron Flash Production Producer 58
Average
1934 The Richest Girl in the World Production Producer 58
Average
1934 The Age of Innocence Production Producer 58
Average
1934 Down to Their Last Yacht Production Executive Producer 59
Average
1934 The Fountain Production Producer 59
Average
1934 Their Big Moment Production Executive Producer 58
Average
1934 His Greatest Gamble Production Executive Producer 58
Average
1934 Bachelor Bait Production Executive Producer 59
Average
1934 Hat, Coat and Glove Production Executive Producer 59
Average
1934 Of Human Bondage Production Producer 59
Average
1934 We're Rich Again Production Executive Producer 58
Average
1934 Let's Try Again Production Executive Producer 58
Average
1934 Cockeyed Cavaliers Production Executive Producer 59
Average
1934 Murder on the Blackboard Production Executive Producer 59
Average
1934 The Life of Vergie Winters Production Producer 59
Average
1934 Stingaree Production Executive Producer 59
Average
1934 Where Sinners Meet Production Executive Producer 58
Average
1934 Strictly Dynamite Production Executive Producer 59
Average
1934 This Man Is Mine Production Producer 58
Average
1934 Spitfire Production Producer 58
Average
1934 Man of Two Worlds Production Producer 59
Average
1933 Aggie Appleby, Maker of Men Production Producer 59
Average
1933 Ann Vickers Production Producer 59
Average
1933 Morning Glory Production Producer 59
Average
1933 Bed of Roses Production Producer 59
Average
1933 The Silver Cord Production Producer 59
Average
1933 Sweepings Production Associate Producer 59
Average
1933 Christopher Strong Production Associate Producer 59
Average
1933 The Monkey's Paw Production Producer 59
Average
1932 The Half-Naked Truth Production Associate Producer 58
Average
1932 The Age of Consent Production Associate Producer 59
Average
1932 What Price Hollywood? Production Associate Producer 59
Average
1932 Symphony of Six Million Production Associate Producer 58
Average

Editing
1928 Taxi 13 Editing Editor N/A
N/A