Heller, Paul 1927–(Paul M. Heller)

HELLER, Paul 1927–
(Paul M. Heller)

PERSONAL

Full name, Paul Michael Heller; born September 25, 1927, in New York, NY; son of Alex Gordon (an inventor) and Anna (an activist; maiden name, Rappaport) Heller; married Georganne Aldrich (divorced, 1981); children: Michael Peter, Charles Paul. Education: Studied engineering at Drexel Institute of Technology (now Drexel University), 1944–45; Hunter College (now of the City University of New York), B.A., 1950.

Addresses: Office— Paul Heller Productions, Inc., 1666 North Beverly Dr., Beverly Hills, CA 90210.

Career: Producer and art director. Set designer for theatre, film, and television productions, 1952–61; MPO Pictures Inc., president, 1964–69; Warner Bros., production executive, 1970–71; Sequoia Pictures Inc., founder (with Fred Weintraub), 1972; Paul Heller Productions Inc., Beverly Hills, CA, president, 1978—. Intrepid Productions, president. Community Film Workshop Council, New York City, chair of board of directors; New York University, instructor in motion picture and television production, 1964–66; American Film Institute, instructor; Columbia University, guest lecturer. Hearst Castle Preservation, member of board of directors; Human–Dolphin Foundation, member. Sometimes credited as Paul M. Heller. Military service: U.S. Army, served in Signal Corps; received Presidential Unit Citation.

Member: Screen Actors Guild, Directors Guild of America, Actors' Equity Association, United Scenic Artists, American Film Institute (founding member, Committee of 100), Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, British Academy of Film and Television Arts (member of board of directors), Plumstead Theatre Society (chair of board of directors), Lotos Club.

Awards, Honors: Cesar Award nomination, best foreign film, Academie des Arts et Techniques du Cinema, Venice Film Festival Award, best first work, and Mar Del Plata Festival Award, best film, all 1962, for David and Lisa; Mar Del Plata Festival Award, best film, 1964, for The Eavesdropper; Academy Award, best picture, 1989, for My Left Foot; Cesar Award, best foreign film, for Secret Ceremony; special award from National Association for Mental Health.

CREDITS

Film Producer:

(And art director) David and Lisa, Continental, 1962.

The Eavesdropper (also known as El ojo de la cerra-dura and El ojo que espia ), 1964, Royal Films International, 1966.

Once upon a Tractor, 1965.

Come Spy with Me, Twentieth Century–Fox, 1967.

Stop, Warner Bros., 1970.

(With Fred Weintraub) Enter the Dragon (also known as The Deadly Three, Operation Dragon, and Long zheng hu dou ), Warner Bros., 1973.

(With Weintraub) Black Belt Jones, Warner Bros., 1974.

(With Weintraub) Golden Needles (also known as Chase for the Golden Needles ), American International Pictures, 1974.

(With Weintraub) Truck Turner (also known as Black Bullet ), American International Pictures, 1974.

The Wilby Conspiracy, 1975.

(With Weintraub) The Ultimate Warrior (also known as The Barony and The Last Warrior ), Warner Bros., 1975.

(With Weintraub) Trial by Combat (also known as A Choice of Arms, Choice of Weapons, and Dirty Knight's Work ), Gamma III, 1976.

(With Weintraub) Hot Potato, Warner Bros., 1976.

Crash, Warner Bros., 1976.

(With Weintraub) The Pack (also known as The Long, Dark Night and The Long Hard Night ), Warner Bros., 1977.

(With Weintraub) Checkered Flag or Crash, Universal, 1978.

(With Weintraub) The Promise (also known as Face of a Stranger ), Universal, 1979.

(With Martha Scott) First Monday in October, Paramount, 1981.

Withnail and I, Cineplex Odeon, 1987.

The Lunatic, Triton Pictures, 1991.

Fatal Inheritance, 1993.

The Annihilation of Fish, Regent Entertainment, 2001.

Film Executive Producer:

Secret Ceremony, Universal, 1968.

Outlaw Blues, Warner Bros., 1977.

My Left Foot (also known as My Left Foot: The Story of Christy Brown ), Miramax, 1989.

Film Production Designer:

Cop Hater, 1958.

Happy Anniversary, United Artists, 1959.

Film Director:

(Uncredited) It's Showtime (also known as Crazy Animals, Jaws, Paws, Claws, Wonderful World of Those Cukoo Animals, and World of Those Cuckoo ), 1976.

Film Appearances:

Radio operator, Enter the Dragon (also known as The Deadly Three, Operation Dragon, and Long zheng hu dou ), Warner Bros., 1973.

Television Work; Movies:

Executive producer, The Disappearance of Christina, USA Network, 1993.

Co–executive producer, David and Lisa (also known as Oprah Winfrey Presents: David and Lisa ), ABC, 1998.

Television Work; Other:

Executive producer, Falcon's Gold (pilot; also known as Robbers of the Sacred Mountain ), Showtime, 1982.

Producer, Wait until Dark (special), HBO, 1982.

Executive producer, Pygmalion (special), Showtime, 1983.

Stage Work:

Stage manager, Angel in the Pornshop, Booth Theatre, New York City, 1951.

Executive producer, The New York Experience (multimedia show), Trans–Lux Corp., 1973.

Executive producer of South Street Venture (multimedia show); also producer of multimedia shows for the Skirball Cultural Center Museum, 1999, and Hong Kong Museum of History, 2000.

ADAPTATIONS

Heller's films Trial by Combat and The Promise were based on stories by him.