Arnold Kopelson obit

Arnold Kopelson Dies: ‘Platoon’, ‘The Fugitive’ Producer Was 83

 

He was not on the list.

Arnold Kopelson, the producer of films including the Oscar-winning Platoon and The Fugitive, and a CBS Corp board member from 2007 until last month, died at his home in Beverly Hills today. He was 83.

His death was announced by his wife and business partner, Anne Kopelson. CBS confirmed the news.

“Arnold was a man of exceptional talent whose legacy will long survive him. He also, of course, was a highly dedicated CBS board member for more than 10 years,” CBS said Monday. “Our hearts go out to Anne and his family.”

Kopelson was born on February 14, 1935 in Brooklyn, NY. He attended and then later graduated from New York University. He went on to earn a law degree at New York Law School. He began his law career in New York, Kopelson acted as special counsel in entertainment lending transactions to several institutions.

He would go on to partner with his future wife Anne Feinberg to form Film Packages, Inc. — which would later become Kopelson Entertainment. With his experience in motion picture financing, Kopelson headed west to Hollywood where he would become a full-time producer.

His film producing credits also include The Devil’s Advocate, Seven and Outbreak, among dozens. The range of films reaches back to 1981’s Porky’s and would go on to include 1989’s Triumph of the Spirit, 1993’s Falling Down and 1995’s Outbreak. Kopelson, named Showest’s Producer of the Year in 1994.

This past summer, Kopelson’s name surfaced in the news when a video he reportedly shot of a 95-year-old Sumner Redstone became part of the legal debate over Redstone’s mental capacity. Kopelson also made headlines when he emailed a letter to comedian Kathy Griffin suggesting she apologize to President Donald Trump after she was photographed holding a bloody severed dummy head resembling the president, noting, “If you don’t do exactly what I have written, your career is over.”

Kopelson founded Inter-Ocean Film Sales in 1972, specializing in foreign distribution of independently produced non-American TV movies, and by the mid-1980s his own producing efforts reached a critical and commercial milestone with Oliver Stone’s Oscar-winning Platoon, starring Willem Defoe, Tom Berenger and Charlie Sheen.

The Fugitive, starring Harrison Ford, arrived in ’93, followed two years later by Seven, starring Brad Pitt. The streak continued with the Arnold Schwarzenegger action film Eraser in 1997. Efforts to bring The Fugitive franchise back to television were unsuccessful, but in 2007 Kopelson reportedly signed a multimillion-dollar deal with the Houston-based Equus Total Return, Inc. to finance film development.

Also that year, Kopelson was elected to the board of directors of CBS Corp. He also served on the Executive Committee of the Producer’s Branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and was a member of the Board of Mentors of the Peter Stark Motion Picture Producer’s Program at the University of Southern California. In 1998, Kopelson Received the New York Law School Distinguished Alumnus Award for Lifetime Achievement.

He is survived by his wife Anne Kopelson and three children, Peter, Evan and Stephanie. Funeral services will be held on  Oct. 10th at Mt. Sinai Memorial Park in Los Angeles. A Memorial will also take place at a later date.

Film

Year     Film            Credit            Notes

1978    The Legacy            Executive producer     

1979    Lost and Found            Executive producer     

1980    Night of the Juggler            Executive producer     

Foolin' Around            

Final Assignment            Executive producer     

1981    Dirty Tricks            Executive producer     

Porky's            Executive producer     

1984    Gimme an 'F'            Executive producer     

1986    Platoon            

1989            Warlock            Executive producer     

Triumph of the Spirit               

1990    Fire Birds            Executive producer     

1991    Out for Justice             

1993    Falling Down              

The Fugitive                 

1995            Outbreak                   

Seven              

1996    Eraser             

1997    Murder at 1600                       

Mad City                     

The Devil's Advocate                    

1998    A Perfect Murder            

U.S. Marshals             

2001    Don't Say a Word                 

Joe Somebody            

2004    Twisted                        Final film as a producer

 

Miscellaneous crew

Year     Film            Role

1977    The Ransom            Executive in charge of production: Inter-Ocean Films

1979    Lost and Found            Presenter

 

Thanks

Year     Film            Role

2014    Alien Abduction            The producers would like to thank

2016    Rising Fear     The producers wish to thank

 

Television

Year     Title            Credit            Notes

1994    Past Tense            Executive producer            Television film

Frogmen            Executive producer            Television film

2000−01            The Fugitive            Executive producer     

2001    Thieves            Executive producer     

2012    Pure Evil            Executive producer     

 

As an actor

Year     Title            Role

1992    2000 Malibu Road            None