IN MOTION (backup) V.3 - USC School of Cinematic Arts - University ...
IN MOTION (backup) V.3 - USC School of Cinematic Arts - University ...
IN MOTION (backup) V.3 - USC School of Cinematic Arts - University ...
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
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