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IN MOTION (backup) V.3 - USC School of Cinematic Arts - University ...

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In Memoriam<br />

DANA BROCCOLI<br />

Her many friends at the <strong>USC</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>of</strong> Cinema-Television<br />

were saddened to learn <strong>of</strong> the loss <strong>of</strong> actress, producer,<br />

novelist, and humanitarian Dana Broccoli on February 29.<br />

She was 82.<br />

A New York native, Broccoli studied acting at Cecil<br />

Clovelly’s Academy <strong>of</strong> Dramatic <strong>Arts</strong> at Carnegie Hall and<br />

eventually moved to California where she and her first husband,<br />

actor Lewis Wilson, joined the famed Pasadena<br />

Playhouse. Separated from Wilson, Dana met Albert<br />

“Cubby” Broccoli, one <strong>of</strong> the most successful producers<br />

working in England and Europe, in 1959, and the two were<br />

married shortly thereafter in Las Vegas, with Cary Grant<br />

serving as best man.<br />

Dana Broccoli was perhaps best known for her work as custodian<br />

<strong>of</strong> the James Bond franchise, following the death <strong>of</strong><br />

Cubby Broccoli, the film series’ producer, in 1996. It was<br />

Dana who brought a then-unknown Sean Connery to the<br />

attention <strong>of</strong> the Bond filmmakers, and she has been credited<br />

by the Ian Fleming Foundation and others as a “creative<br />

force” on the 007 films.<br />

The Broccolis adapted another Ian Fleming book, Chitty<br />

Chitty Bang Bang, for the screen in 1968, and, in 2002,<br />

Dana Broccoli produced the successful London stage version.<br />

She also published two novels, Scenario for Murder and<br />

Florinda, adapting the latter for the musical La Cava, which<br />

premiered in London in 2000.<br />

Dana and Cubby were committed philanthropists, raising<br />

hundreds <strong>of</strong> thousands <strong>of</strong> pounds to benefit a variety <strong>of</strong><br />

worthy causes, including the UK’s National Society for<br />

the Prevention <strong>of</strong> Cruelty to Children. The Dana and<br />

Albert Broccoli Foundation Scholarship at the <strong>USC</strong><br />

<strong>School</strong> <strong>of</strong> Cinema-Television is awarded to distinguished<br />

graduate students in the <strong>School</strong>’s Division <strong>of</strong> Film and<br />

Television Production.<br />

Dana Broccoli is survived by four children, including<br />

Michael Wilson and Barbara Broccoli who continue to<br />

produce the legendary James Bond films.<br />

JOHN HENCH<br />

John Hench, a friend <strong>of</strong> the <strong>USC</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>of</strong> Cinema-<br />

Television and founding supporter <strong>of</strong> the <strong>School</strong>’s Division<br />

<strong>of</strong> Animation and Digital <strong>Arts</strong>, passed away on February 5.<br />

The longtime Disney artist was 95.<br />

Born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Hench grew up in Southern<br />

California and studied art in Los Angeles, San Francisco,<br />

and New York City. He began his association with Disney in<br />

1939, working as a sketch artist on Fantasia. In the years<br />

that followed, Hench came to symbolize the company in a<br />

way that was matched only by Walt Disney himself.<br />

In addition to Fantasia, Hench lent his vast artistic talents to<br />

such classic Disney films as Dumbo (1941), Make Mine<br />

Music (1946), Cinderella (1950), Alice in Wonderland (1951),<br />

Peter Pan (1953), and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954).<br />

In 1954, he joined a small but visionary group <strong>of</strong> artists and<br />

designers that was the genesis <strong>of</strong> Walt Disney Imagineering,<br />

the creative team behind Disney theme parks and resorts<br />

worldwide. The group contributed its design expertise to the<br />

VIII Winter Olympic Games, held in Squaw Valley, Idaho in<br />

1960, and Hench went on to help develop four Disney<br />

shows that debuted at the 1964 New York World’s Fair:<br />

“ Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln,” “Carousel <strong>of</strong> Progress,”<br />

“ It’s a small world,” and “Magic Skyway.”<br />

14 | in motion fall 2004<br />

John Hentch and Walt Disney discuss an original model for Disneyland.<br />

“<br />

He truly was a contemporary ‘renaissance man,’ a genius<br />

who could do and understand anything,” said Vibeke<br />

Sorensen, former chair <strong>of</strong> the <strong>School</strong>’s Division <strong>of</strong><br />

Animation and Digital <strong>Arts</strong>. Hench was particularly interested<br />

in extending the language <strong>of</strong> animation through education.<br />

He met regularly with students (“He wanted to see<br />

everything they made,” notes Sorensen) and continued to<br />

advise Sorensen and other educators on a wide range <strong>of</strong><br />

projects, including the design <strong>of</strong> the animation studios at<br />

<strong>USC</strong>, until the very end <strong>of</strong> his life.<br />

In 1990, Hench was named a Disney Legend, an honor<br />

accorded to individuals whose contributions to the company<br />

have been truly exceptional. He also received lifetime<br />

achievement awards from the Themed Entertainment<br />

Association and the International Animated Film Society.<br />

Up until two weeks before his death, Hench still worked<br />

daily at Walt Disney Imagineering, and was actively<br />

involved in the design <strong>of</strong> Hong Kong Disneyland.<br />

RAY STARK<br />

Ray Stark, the legendary Hollywood producer, agent, and<br />

executive, and founder the Peter Stark Producing Program,<br />

died in January at the age <strong>of</strong> 88.<br />

A native <strong>of</strong> New York City, Stark attended Rutgers and New<br />

York <strong>University</strong> Law <strong>School</strong>. After serving in the Navy during<br />

World War II, Stark shifted his focus to the entertainment<br />

industry. The Broadway musical Funny Girl, which he<br />

produced, told the story <strong>of</strong> his mother-in-law, comedian<br />

and beloved Ziegfeld Follies star Fanny Brice. The show was<br />

an instant hit and launched the career <strong>of</strong> a then-unknown<br />

Barbra Streisand who went on to star in Stark’s screen version,<br />

receiving an Academy Award in 1964 (she tied with<br />

Katharine Hepburn in the Best Actress category) for her<br />

debut film role.<br />

Although he was perhaps best known for Funny Girl and its<br />

sequel, Funny Lady, Stark helped bring more than 250<br />

motion pictures — including The Electric Horseman, The<br />

Goodbye Girl, Night <strong>of</strong> the Iguana, Smokey and the Bandit,<br />

and Steel Magnolias — to the big screen during a prolific and<br />

influential career that spanned more than four decades. In<br />

1993, he won an Emmy for the HBO made-for-television<br />

film Barbarians at the Gate.<br />

Among the other prestigious honors accorded Stark were<br />

the Irving G. Thalberg Award, given by the Academy <strong>of</strong><br />

Motion Picture <strong>Arts</strong> and Sciences, and the Lifetime<br />

Achievement Award from the Producers Guild <strong>of</strong> America.<br />

Stark and his late wife, Frances were committed philanthropists<br />

whose substantial early contributions to and ongoing<br />

support <strong>of</strong> the <strong>School</strong>’s Peter Stark Producing Program<br />

helped prepare some <strong>of</strong> the today’s most notable producers,<br />

creative executives, and agents for top-level careers in the<br />

entertainment industry. The world-renowned program,<br />

which will celebrate its 25th anniversary next year, was<br />

named for the Starks’ son, Peter, who passed away in 1970.<br />

The Starks continued to support the program and remained<br />

Ray Stark

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