Saul David

Education

Out of a shortlist of five authors, David chose Louis L"Amour who had been disillusioned with Fawcett publishing.

Career

After graduation he worked at a radio station in York, Pennsylvania and on a newspaper in Portuguese Huron, Michigan. During World World War II, David enlisted in the United States Army where he wrote for Yank, the Army Weekly and the Stars and Stripes in North Africa and Europe. Whilst at Warners David acquired Helen Gurley Brown"s book Sex and the Single Girl for the studio.

When one studio executive told him the book had no plot, David replied "I told you that a hundred thousand dollars ago".

The studio had purchased a title, not a plot. He became a producer at 20th Century Fox with the 1964 World World War II prisoner of war adventure Von Ryan"s Express filmed on location in Italy with Frank Sinatra and a strong cast.

He then produced three spy-fi films,,, and The plot of In Like Flint concerns a missing three minutes in the life of the President of the United States.

Ironically, when Fox edited out three minutes of In Like Flint that added more depth to the film, David left the studio.

Years later David was enraged when watching ten to fifteen minutes cut out of Our Manitoba Flint during a television showing that "was not so much re-edited as lobotomised into senselessness". He wrote to California Senator George Murphy to say that as a publisher had to inform readers they were buying and reading an abridged works so should television stations inform their viewers they were watching abridged films. David produced originally for American Broadcasting Company Pictures, but after a disagreement the film and David went to Universal Pictures.

Though he announced a busy production schedule of five films, none were made.

Still interested in science fiction David recalled the book Logan"s Run and produced the film in 1976. During his acceptance speech, L.B. Abbott said, "I want to very sincerely thank the Board of Directors of the Academy.

The producer, Mr. Saul David, and that great host of wonderful helpers made this accolade possible for medical " Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer hired David to produce a television version of the film in 1977 but then fired him and "hired and inept team of producers who knew nothing whatever about science fiction," said William F. Nolan.

He died of congestive heart failure in Culver City, California.

Achievements

• Born in Springfield, Massachusetts, he won an art competition and received a scholarship to the Rhode Island School of Design, which he attended from 1937 to 1940. Logan"s Run won a Special Achievement Academy Award for visual effects, which was presented by actor Roy Scheider to L.B. Abbott, Glen Robinson, and Matthew Yuricich at the 49th Annual Academy Awards show on March 28, 1977 at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.

Views

Quotations: "hired and inept team of producers who knew nothing whatever about science fiction,".