Edward Lewis, Producer of ‘Spartacus,’ ‘Missing’ and ‘Grand Prix,’ Dies at 99
Edward Lewis, who helped break the Hollywood Blacklist by employing Dalton Trumbo on 'Spartacus' and shared an Oscar nomination with his wife, Mildred Lewis, for producing Costa-Gavras' 'Missing,' has died. He was 99.
He was not on the list.
Edward Lewis, who helped break the Hollywood Blacklist by
employing Dalton Trumbo on Spartacus and shared an Oscar nomination with his
wife, Mildred Lewis, for producing Costa-Gavras’ Missing, has died. He was 99.
Lewis died July 27 at his home in Los Angeles, his daughter
Susan Lewis told The Hollywood Reporter. Mildred died April 7 at age 98, Susan
also revealed, and she was his “indispensable partner” for 73 years as they
worked together on movies, musicals and novels.
Edward Lewis also produced or executive produced nine films
directed by John Frankenheimer, including the classics Seven Days in May
(1964), Seconds (1966) — he hired blacklisted actor John Randolph on that one —
and Grand Prix (1966).
For Spartacus (1960), Lewis arranged for Trumbo to write the
screenplay, based on the 1951 novel by Howard Fast (like Trumbo, Fast also was
blacklisted), with the producer serving as Trumbo’s “front” as he presented the
script to Universal Studios. (The screenwriter had been writing under
pseudonyms for years.)
Only after Universal had spent $8 million making the movie
did Lewis reveal the true author of the screenplay. When the studio agreed to
the proper credit, Trumbo wrote that Lewis had “risked his name to help a man
who’d lost his name.”
Spartacus star Kirk Douglas, who executive produced the film
through his Bryna Productions, also receives a wealth of credit in getting
Trumbo his due. Lewis, however, did not go to any lengths to publicize his
role. “It was part of his dignity and the values that he had,” his daughter
said.
Other Lewis-produced films written by Trumbo included The
Last Sunset (1961), Lonely Are the Brave (1962) — those two, like Seven Days in
May, starred Douglas, too — and Executive Action (1973).
He and his wife produced Missing (1982), which starred Jack
Lemmon and Sissy Spacek and earned writer-director Costa-Gavras an Oscar for
adapted screenplay. The thriller won the Palme d’Or at Cannes but lost out at
the Academy Awards to Gandhi for best picture.
He also assisted executive producer Mildred on the Hal Ashby
cult classic Harold and Maude (1971), starring Ruth Gordon and Bud Cort.
Lewis’ other notable producing efforts included The List of
Adrian Messenger, directed by John Huston and starring Douglas; the 1983 ABC
miniseries The Thorn Birds, starring Richard Chamberlain; Crackers (1984),
directed by Louis Malle; and his final film, The River (1984), starring Spacek
and Mel Gibson.
Born on Dec. 16, 1919, in Camden, New Jersey, Edward Lewis
at age 16 entered Bucknell University, where he competed as a boxer and
wrestler and belonged to the Jewish fraternity Sigma Alpha Mu. After a brief
stint in dental school, he served as a captain during World War II.
Moving to Los Angeles after the war, he married Mildred in
1946, and they collaborated on the screenplay adaptation of Honoré de Balzac’s
The Lovable Cheat (1949), featuring Buster Keaton. (Edward also co-produced the
movie.)
In 1952, he produced 20 installments of the pioneering CBS
anthology series Schlitz Playhouse.
Lewis and Frankenheimer also worked together on The Fixer
(1968), The Extraordinary Seaman (1969), The Gypsy Moths (1969), I Walk the
Line (1970), The Horsemen (1971) and The Iceman Cometh (1973).
With Mildred and in consultation with Angela Davis, Lewis
wrote the screenplay for Brothers (1977), a fictional account of the George
Jackson story that starred Bernie Casey and examined racial injustice in the
American prison system.
He also authored, with Mildred, the books Heads You Lose
(2002) and Masquerade (2006), as well as several plays and musicals. One,
Ring-a-Ring-a-Rosy, was awarded the Harold Prince Musical Theater Prize in
1995.
Edward and Mildred were actively involved in civil rights
causes, working with Cesar Chavez to facilitate the establishment of the United
Farmworkers of America’s headquarters in La Paz, California and organizing a
Hollywood Bowl fundraiser for the 1968 Poor People’s Campaign.
Avid travelers and art collectors, they loaned part of their
collection to LACMA for exhibition.
In addition to Lewis’ daughters Susan and Joan, survivors
include sons-in-law Robert and David and grandchildren Maya and Lewis.
Producer
Mel Gibson and Sissy Spacek in The River (1984)
The River
6.3
producer
1984
Sean Penn, Donald Sutherland, and Tasia Valenza in Crackers
(1984)
Crackers
5.2
producer
1984
Hanna K. (1983)
Hanna K.
6.6
associate producer
1983
The Thorn Birds (1983)
The Thorn Birds
7.9
TV Mini Series
executive producer
1983
4 episodes
Jack Lemmon, Sissy Spacek, and John Shea in Missing (1982)
Missing
7.7
producer (as Edward)
1982
Ishi: The Last of His Tribe (1978)
Ishi: The Last of His Tribe
6.9
TV Movie
executive producer
1978
Bernie Casey and Vonetta McGee in Brothers (1977)
Brothers
6.5
producer (produced by)
1977
The Blue Bird (1976)
The Blue Bird
5.4
executive producer
1976
Lost in the Stars (1974)
Lost in the Stars
6.3
executive producer
1974
Rhinoceros (1974)
Rhinoceros
5.7
executive producer
1974
Executive Action (1973)
Executive Action
6.7
producer (produced by)
1973
The Iceman Cometh (1973)
The Iceman Cometh
7.2
executive producer
1973
Jack Palance, Omar Sharif, and Leigh Taylor-Young in The
Horsemen (1971)
The Horsemen
6.2
producer
1971
I Walk the Line (1970)
I Walk the Line
6.5
executive producer
1970
The Gypsy Moths (1969)
The Gypsy Moths
6.3
executive producer
1969
The Extraordinary Seaman (1969)
The Extraordinary Seaman
3.4
producer (produced by)
1969
The Fixer (1968)
The Fixer
6.8
producer
1968
James Garner, Toshirô Mifune, Eva Marie Saint, Antonio
Sabato, Françoise Hardy, and Yves Montand in Grand Prix (1966)
Grand Prix
7.2
producer
1966
Seconds (1966)
Seconds
7.6
producer
1966
Seven Days in May (1964)
Seven Days in May
7.8
producer
1964
Kirk Douglas and Burt Lancaster in The List of Adrian
Messenger (1963)
The List of Adrian Messenger
6.8
producer (produced by)
1963
Kirk Douglas, Gena Rowlands, Carroll O'Connor, Michael Kane,
William Schallert, and Bronze Star in Lonely Are the Brave (1962)
Lonely Are the Brave
7.6
producer
1962
Kirk Douglas, Rock Hudson, and Dorothy Malone in The Last Sunset
(1961)
The Last Sunset
6.7
producer
1961
Kirk Douglas, Laurence Olivier, Tony Curtis, John Gavin,
Charles Laughton, Jean Simmons, and Peter Ustinov in Spartacus (1960)
Spartacus
7.9
producer (produced by)
1960
Tales of the Vikings (1959)
Tales of the Vikings
8.0
TV Series
executive producer
1959–1960
3 episodes
The Careless Years (1957)
The Careless Years
5.6
producer
1957
Lizzie (1957)
Lizzie
6.3
associate producer
1957
Run for the Hills (1953)
Run for the Hills
4.5
executive producer (as Ted Lewis)
1953
China Smith (1952)
China Smith
7.5
TV Series
producer
executive producer
1952–1953
5 episodes
Hal Baylor, Hans Conried, and Chuck Hicks in Schlitz
Playhouse (1951)
Schlitz Playhouse
7.7
TV Series
producer
1952
20 episodes
The Bogus Green
6.2
TV Movie
producer
1951
Steve Brodie, Wanda Hendrix, Edmond O'Brien, Johnny Sands,
and Rudy Vallee in The Admiral Was a Lady (1950)
The Admiral Was a Lady
5.8
associate producer
1950
Buster Keaton, Fritz Feld, Peggy Ann Garner, Alan Mowbray,
Richard Ney, and Charles Ruggles in The Lovable Cheat (1949)
The Lovable Cheat
6.2
producer
1949
Writer
Bernie Casey and Vonetta McGee in Brothers (1977)
Brothers
6.5
written by
1977
Buster Keaton, Fritz Feld, Peggy Ann Garner, Alan Mowbray,
Richard Ney, and Charles Ruggles in The Lovable Cheat (1949)
The Lovable Cheat
6.2
adaptation
screenplay
1949
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