Marvin Worth

Marvin Worth
Marvin Worth
Born	June 6, 1925; Brooklyn, New York
Died	April 22, 1998 (aged 72); Los Angeles, California
Other names	Film producer, screenwriter, actor
Spouse(s)	Joan Worth (ca. 1954 – April 22, 1998)

Marvin Worth (June 6, 1925 – April 22, 1998) was an American film producer, screenwriter and actor. His efforts to bring the biography of Malcolm X to the big screen started in 1967, when he purchased the rights to The Autobiography of Malcolm X, and eventually led to the production of the 1972 documentary, for which he received an Oscar nomination. Later on, he would produce Malcolm X, with director Spike Lee. He was nominated for an Oscar for producing Lenny in 1974.

Early life and career

Worth's career began at a very early age when he began promoting jazz concerts, which led to relationship with many artists. At one time, he managed the musical careers of Charlie Parker and Billie Holiday. Later, Worth's employment as an agent branched into comedy, and he took on contentious comedian Lenny Bruce. In the 1950s, he forged a partnership with Arne Sultan and began writing material for Bruce. The duo went on to pen the scripts for Three on a Couch and Boys' Night Out and the story for Promise Her Anything. In 1958, Worth won a Peabody Award for his writing on The Steve Allen Show.[1]

In 1971, Worth brought the story of Lenny Bruce to Broadway in the production Lenny, which won a Tony Award for its star, Cliff Gorman.(Internet Broadway Database) [1][2] In 1974 the movie version of Lenny directed by Bob Fosse was released and received multiple Academy Award nominations. For the remainder of his career, Worth continued to produce biopics including the 1979 film The Rose (loosely based on Janis Joplin), the 1996 television movie Norma Jean & Marilyn, the 1998 television movie Gia, and the 2001 television movie James Dean.

Personal life and death

Worth was married to his wife Joan, an artist, for 44 years. They had three children.[3] On April 22, 1998, Worth died of bronchioloalveolar carcinoma, a form of lung cancer, in Los Angeles.[4]

Selected filmography

He was a producer in all films unless otherwise noted.

Film

Year	Film	Notes	Other notes
1970	Where's Poppa?
1974	Lenny
1977	Fire Sale
1979	The Rose
1980	Up the Academy
1982	Soup for One
1984	Unfaithfully Yours
	Rhinestone
	Falling in Love
1987	Less Than Zero	Uncredited
1988	Patty Hearst
1989	See No Evil, Hear No Evil
1990	Flashback
1992	Malcolm X
1996	Diabolique		Final film as a producer

As an actor

Year	Film	Role
1977	Fire Sale	Milton

As writer

Year	Film	Notes
1962	Boys' Night Out
1965	Promise Her Anything
1966	Three on a Couch
1979	The Rose	Uncredited
1989	See No Evil, Hear No Evil

Miscellaneous crew

Year	Film	Notes
1984	Rhinestone	Presenter

Television

Year	Title	Credit	Notes	Other notes
1966	Vacation Playhouse
1971	The Sheriff	Executive producer	Television film
1979	Where's Poppa?	Executive producer	Television pilot
1992	Running Mates		Television film
1996	Norma Jean & Marilyn	Executive producer	Television film
1998	Gia	Executive producer	Television film
1998	Criminal Law		Television film
2001	James Dean	Executive producer	Television film	Uncredited

As writer

Year	Title	Notes
1956	Stanley
1956	Washington Square
1957	The Polly Bergen Show
1957	General Motors 50th Anniversary Show	Television special
1958	The Dinah Shore Chevy Show
1959−60	The Steve Allen Show
1960	The Chevy Show
1961	The New Steve Allen Show
1962	The Steve Allen Playhouse
1963−64	The Judy Garland Show
1965	Get Smart
1966	The Milton Berle Show

Script and continuity department

Year	Title
1963	The Judy Garland Show

Thanks

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1993	But... Seriously	Thanks	Documentary

Award nominations

Year	Award	Result	Category	Film or series
1973	Academy Award	Nominated	Best Documentary, Features	Malcolm X (Shared with Arnold Perl)
1975	Academy Award		Best Picture	Lenny
1998	Emmy Award		Outstanding Made for Television Movie	Gia (Shared with James D. Brubaker, David R. Ginsburg, and Ilene Kahn)
1985	Golden Raspberry Award		Worst Picture	Rhinestone (Shared with Howard Smith)

References

Oliver, Myrna (April 24, 1998). "Marvin Worth; Producer of 'Lenny,' 'Malcolm X'". The L.A. Times. Retrieved February 9, 2009.
"Cliff Gorman: Dynamic star of 'Lenny' and 'The Boys in the Band'". independent.co.uk. September 16, 2002. Retrieved February 9, 2009.
McLellan, Dennis (December 31, 2006). "Joan Worth, 72; theatrical writer-producer". boston.com. Retrieved February 9, 2009.
Galloway, Doug (April 1998). "Marvin Worth (Writer/producer, age 72)". findarticles.com. Archived from the original on August 12, 2009. Retrieved February 9, 2009.

External links

Marvin Worth at the Internet Broadway Database
Marvin Worth at IMDb
Marvin Worth at AllMovie
Marvin Worth at Find a Grave

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[latimes-1] Oliver, Myrna (April 24, 1998). "Marvin Worth; Producer of 'Lenny,' 'Malcolm X'". The L.A. Times. Retrieved February 9, 2009.

[2] "Cliff Gorman: Dynamic star of 'Lenny' and 'The Boys in the Band'". independent.co.uk. September 16, 2002. Retrieved February 9, 2009.

[3] McLellan, Dennis (December 31, 2006). "Joan Worth, 72; theatrical writer-producer". boston.com. Retrieved February 9, 2009.

[4] Galloway, Doug (April 1998). "Marvin Worth (Writer/producer, age 72)". findarticles.com. Archived from the original on August 12, 2009. Retrieved February 9, 2009.