Martin Poll obit

Martin Poll dies at 89; veteran producer best known for ‘Lion in Winter’

He was not on the list.

Martin Poll, 89, a veteran producer best known for “The Lion in Winter,” the Oscar-winning 1968 film that starred Katharine Hepburn and Peter O’Toole, died Saturday in New York. He had pneumonia and kidney failure, according to his son, Jon.

Hepburn won a best actress Oscar for her portrayal of Eleanor of Aquitaine. The film was also honored for best musical score and best adapted screenplay. Poll produced a remake for television in 2003 with Glenn Close in the Hepburn role.

During a five-decade career, Poll produced a dozen films with stars such as Elizabeth Taylor and Woody Allen. His other feature films include “The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing” (1973), “Night Watch” (1973), “Love and Death” (1975), “The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea” (1976) and “Nighthawks” (1981).

He also produced television projects such as “Diana: Her True Story,” based on British journalist Andrew Morton’s bestseller about Princess Diana.

Born in New York City on Nov. 24, 1922, Poll began his career in 1954 producing 39 half-hour episodes of “Flash Gordon” in Europe.

When he returned to New York two years later, he restored the old Biograph Studio and reopened it as Gold Medal Studios, considered the largest film production facility outside of Hollywood. Director Daniel Mann’s “Butterfield 8” and Elia Kazan’s “A Face in the Crowd” were among the movies shot at the studio during the years Poll operated it.

He sold Gold Medal in the early 1960s and devoted himself to producing. He also served as New York’s commissioner of motion picture arts.

 

Film

Year     Title            Credit            Notes

1957    The Big Fun Carnival            Executive producer     

1963    Love Is a Ball               

1965    Sylvia              

1968    The Lion in Winter              

1969    The Appointment                

1970    The Magic Garden of Stanley Sweetheart                  

1972    The Possession of Joel Delaney                

1973    The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing                       

Night Watch                

1975    Love and Death            Executive producer     

1976    The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea                 

1978            Somebody Killed Her Husband                      

1981            Nighthawks                 

1984    Gimme an 'F'            Executive producer     

1988            Haunted Summer                    

1991    My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys                     Final film as a producer

 

Television

Year     Title            Credit            Notes

1959    New York Confidential                 

1960    The Comedy Spot              

1978    The Dain Curse                  

1979    The Fantastic Seven                        Television film

1983    Merlin and the Sword              Television film

1993    Diana: Her True Story            Executive producer            Television film

2003    The Lion in Winter            Executive producer            Television film