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Peter Stark Biography & Facts

Raymond Otto Stark (October 3, 1915 – January 17, 2004) was an American film producer and talent agent. Stark's background as a literary and theatrical agent prepared him to produce some of the most profitable films of the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, such as The World of Suzie Wong (1960), West Side Story (1961), The Misfits (1961), Lolita (1962), The Night of the Iguana (1964), Reflections in a Golden Eye (1967), Funny Girl (1968), The Owl and the Pussycat (1970), The Goodbye Girl (1977), The Toy (1982), Annie (1982), and Steel Magnolias (1989). In addition to his roster of films, Stark formed relationships with various directors and writers throughout his career. Stark made eight films with Herbert Ross, five with John Huston, and three with Sydney Pollack. Additionally, Stark's 18-year partnership with playwright Neil Simon yielded 11 films between the duo, including The Goodbye Girl (1977) and The Sunshine Boys (1975). In 1980, the Motion Picture Academy awarded him the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award for lifetime of achievement in film. Early life Raymond Otto Stark was born on October 3, 1915, in Manhattan, the second child of Sadie (née Gotlieb) and Maximilian Stark. Ray grew up on East 58th street near Central Park. It was Ray's mother who took a dutiful approach to his education, grooming him to be well-read and precocious. Ray attended grade school in Manhattan, skipping two grades, before attending The Kohut School, a boarding school for boys in Harrison, New York. There, Stark's major scholastic interest was writing; he wrote articles for the school's newspaper, The Kohut Klipper, in which his first article was an interview with actress Ginger Rogers whom he brazenly approached after seeing her in a play. In 1931, at 15 years of age, Stark was the youngest student ever admitted to Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. At Rutgers, Stark continued to take strong interest in literature (one of his favorite classes was on Shakespeare) but he did not know how to pursue it occupationally. In 1935, Stark returned to Manhattan to attend NYU Law, although he did not graduate. As Stark's interests shifted to journalism and entertainment, he took an opportunity to live with a friend in Los Angeles. Following a job at Forest Lawn Cemetery as a florist and then as writing assistant to comedian and ventriloquist Edgar Bergen, Stark took a job as a publicist for Warner Bros. Studios in 1937. Stark served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. Seven Arts Productions (with Eliot Hyman) In 1957 Ray Stark and Eliot Hyman founded Seven Arts Productions, an independent production company which made movies for release by other studios. Stark was head of production, in charge of buying film properties and supervising production, while Hyman was instrumental in forming deals and handling finances. West Side Story, Anatomy of a Murder, By Love Possessed, The Nun’s Story, and Night of the Iguana, were among some of the first works purchased by Stark with Seven Arts. However, Stark chose to produce The World of Suzie Wong first, a lesser-known play outside of Seven Arts. The World of Suzie Wong, which originally cast the lead from the Broadway production, France Nuyen, went on to star and mark the discovery of Chinese actress Nancy Kwan. Interpersonal complications with France Nuyen interfered with shooting, and Stark replaced her with newcomer Nancy Kwan, who was later nominated for a Golden Globe Best Actress in the role. Rastar Productions In 1966, Stark left Seven Arts to found his own production company, Rastar Productions. Rastar's first production was the film version of Funny Girl, starring Barbra Streisand. The company went on to produce many notable films from the 1970s to the early 2000s, including The Owl and the Pussycat (1970), The Way We Were (1973), Murder By Death (1976), The Goodbye Girl (1977), Seems Like Old Times (1980), Annie (1982), and Steel Magnolias (1989). In 1974, Rastar was acquired by Columbia Pictures, which included Rastar Productions, Rastar Pictures, Rastar Features, and Rastar Television. Ray Stark then founded Rastar Films, later selling that to Columbia Pictures as well in 1980.Stark's final film (as Rastar Television) was the 2000 TV movie Alley Cats Strike, which was co-produced by Walt Disney Television and aired on Disney Channel. Rastar was closed when Stark himself died in 2004 and was folded into Columbia Pictures. Movies with Barbra Streisand Although stage and film actress Anne Bancroft was the initial first choice to play Fanny Brice in Funny Girl, (the biopic production based on Stark's iconic mother in-law), Stark felt drawn to Barbra Streisand, an unknown singer and performer on the rise in New York City. After a long courtship with the then unknown, Stark and Jerome Robbins, (the production supervisor and director of the Broadway show) decided to cast her as their lead. After an arduous rehearsal period filled with revisions and rewrites, Funny Girl opened to rave reviews on Broadway and became a critical and commercial success. Stark had the smash hit he'd hoped for, and Streisand emerged as a full-fledged star. For both, it was the beginning of an often stormy relationship that would span four more motion pictures over the course of eleven years. Following the Broadway show, Stark formed Rastar Productions in order to finance the film version of Funny Girl due to foiled deals with Columbia and Paramount Pictures. After a year of difficult negotiations, Stark signed Streisand to Rastar Productions in a lengthy contract that bound Stark and Streisand to make four more films together: The Owl and the Pussycat (1970), The Way We Were starring Robert Redford, directed by Sydney Pollack (1973), For Pete’s Sake (1974), and Funny Lady (1975). Background Stark married Fanny Brice's and Nicky Arnstein's daughter Frances Brice in 1940. In telling Fanny's story, Stark would produce the Broadway musical, film version and film sequel Funny Lady (all starring Streisand).Ray Stark had commissioned an authorized biography of Brice, based on taped recollections she had dictated, but was unhappy with the result. It eventually cost him $50,000 to stop publication of The Fabulous Fanny as it had been titled by the author. Stark then turned to Ben Hecht to write the screenplay for a biopic, but neither Hecht nor the 10 writers who succeeded him were able to produce a version that satisfied Stark. Finally, Isobel Lennart submitted My Man, which pleased both Stark and Columbia Pictures executives, who offered Stark $400,000 plus a percentage of the gross for the property.After reading the screenplay, Mary Martin contacted Stark and proposed it be adapted for a stage musical. Stark discussed the possibility with producer David Merrick, who suggested Jule Styne and Stephen Sondheim compose the score. Sondheim told Styne "I don't want to do the life of Fanny Brice with Mary Martin. She's not Jewish. You need someone ethnic for the part.... Discover the Peter Stark popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Peter Stark books.