Walter Coblenz obit

Walter Coblenz, Oscar-Nominated Producer of ‘All the President’s Men,’ Dies at 93

He also worked with Robert Redford on 'Downhill Racer,' 'The Candidate' and 'The Natural.' 

He was not on the list.

Walter Coblenz, who received a best picture Oscar nomination for All the President’s Men and produced other standout films including The Candidate and The Onion Field, has died. He was 93.

Coblenz died March 16 in Los Angeles, his son John announced.

Coblenz also landed an Emmy nomination in 1974 for outstanding limited series for producing NBC’s The Blue Knight, an adaptation of the Joseph Wambaugh novel that starred William Holden as veteran Los Angeles cop Bumper Morgan.

Coblenz served as senior vp production at TriStar Pictures and Carolco Pictures and supervised production on more than 20 major features, including Barry Levinson‘s The Natural (1984), Robert Benton’s Places in the Heart (1984), James Cameron‘s Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), Oliver Stone‘s The Doors (1991) and Martha Coolidge’s Rambling Rose (1991).

He began his film career as an assistant director and production manager on Michael Ritchie’s Downhill Racer (1969), starring Robert Redford, then collaborated with Ritchie and Redford again on the first film he ever produced, The Candidate (1972).

All the President’s Men (1976), directed by Alan J. Pakula and starring Redford and Dustin Hoffman, collected eight Oscar nominations and won four trophies, but the best picture award went to Robert Chartoff and Irwin Winkler for Rocky.

Born on Aug. 15, 1928, in Glogau, Germany, Coblenz emigrated to the U.S. as a child. He graduated from the University of Houston with a degree in radio broadcasting, then got a job as a camera operator for a Houston television station.

After three years in the U.S. Air Force, he worked as a TV director in Dayton, Ohio, and Louisville, Kentucky, then settled in Los Angeles, where he was a stage manager for ABC on The Jerry Lewis Show and, from 1965-69, The Hollywood Palace.

Later, Coblenz was a unit production manager on the ABC series The F.B.I. and on the Monte Hellman-directed Two-Lane Blacktop (1971).

In addition to Harold Becker’s The Onion Field (1979), Coblenz produced films including The Legend of the Lone Ranger (1981), Sister, Sister (1987), 18 Again! (1988), The Babe (1992), Money Talks (1997) and Her Majesty (2001) and the 1974-75 CBS series Apple’s Way, created by Earl Hamner Jr.

Known as a no-nonsense producer and fine mentor, Coblenz served for many years on the Special Projects Committee of the DGA, which oversaw educational and cultural programs for members, the industry and academia.

“I’ve tried to do whatever I do with a degree of humor,” he once said. “One of the things that I told people who work as assistants is that I try to treat them reasonably. I say, ‘You know why I’m being nice to you? Because I want you to be nice to me when I’m on my way down.'”

Coblenz said he “always hired people who were smart. If they were smarter than me, great. Then I could sit on my chair on the set and happily look around, knowing I hired all the right people and they were taking care of all the problems. That’s the sign of a good producer.”

Survivors include his sons Martin (and his wife, Eden) and John; daughter Helen (and her husband, Rick); and grandchildren Evan, Danielle, Jordan and Anthony.

Donations can be made to the American Heart Association.

 

Additional Crew

Fred Astaire and Barrie Chase in The Hollywood Palace (1964)

The Hollywood Palace

8.1

TV Series

stage manager

1965–1969

65 episodes

 

The Jerry Lewis Show (1963)

The Jerry Lewis Show

7.1

TV Series

stage manager

1963

1 episode

 

Production Manager

The Late Liz (1971)

The Late Liz

6.6

production manager

1971

 

Laurie Bird, Warren Oates, James Taylor, and Dennis Wilson in Two-Lane Blacktop (1971)

Two-Lane Blacktop

7.2

unit production manager

1971

 

The F.B.I. (1965)

The F.B.I.

7.4

TV Series

unit production manager

1969–1970

24 episodes

 

Robert Redford and Camilla Sparv in Downhill Racer (1969)

Downhill Racer

6.3

production manager

1969

 

Producer

Sally Andrews in Her Majesty (2001)

Her Majesty

6.9

producer

2001

 

Charlie Sheen and Chris Tucker in Money Talks (1997)

Money Talks

6.2

producer

1997

 

Not Our Son (1995)

Not Our Son

6.2

TV Movie

producer

1995

 

Brian Dennehy in Jack Reed: Badge of Honor (1993)

Jack Reed: Badge of Honor

6.0

TV Movie

producer

1993

 

Bruce Boxleitner, Melissa Gilbert, Michael Boatman, and Kate Vernon in House of Secrets (1993)

House of Secrets

5.4

TV Movie

producer

1993

 

The Babe (1992)

The Babe

5.9

executive producer

1992

 

18 Again! (1988)

18 Again!

5.7

producer

1988

 

Molly Ringwald and Randall Batinkoff in For Keeps? (1988)

For Keeps?

5.9

producer

1988

 

Sister, Sister (1987)

Sister, Sister

5.5

producer

1987

 

Kelly Preston, Lea Thompson, Tate Donovan, and Larry B. Scott in SpaceCamp (1986)

SpaceCamp

5.7

producer (produced by)

1986

 

Nancy Allen, Louise Fletcher, Wallace Shawn, and Michael Lerner in Strange Invaders (1983)

Strange Invaders

5.4

producer (produced by)

1983

 

Klinton Spilsbury in The Legend of the Lone Ranger (1981)

The Legend of the Lone Ranger

4.9

producer

1981

 

The Onion Field (1979)

The Onion Field

6.8

producer (produced by)

1979

 

Dustin Hoffman and Robert Redford in All the President's Men (1976)

All the President's Men

7.9

producer

1976

 

Apple's Way (1974)

Apple's Way

6.6

TV Series

producer

1974

9 episodes

 

A Dream for Christmas (1973)

A Dream for Christmas

6.7

TV Movie

producer

1973

 

William Holden in The Blue Knight (1973)

The Blue Knight

7.1

TV Movie

producer

1973

 

The Candidate (1972)

The Candidate

7.0

producer

1972