Ross Hunter

Noted Hollywood producer Ross Hunter served in Army intelligence during World War II. After the war, he signed with Columbia and appeared in a number of forgettable B-movies. He then became a producer and produced more than sixty films. Most of his films tended to be bright confections – with stars such as Debbie Reynolds, and Julie Andrews – or three-hankie remakes of films such as Imitation of Life (1959), which resurrected the career of Lana Turner. His production principle was that audiences should leave the theater either laughing or crying. His biggest success was the film Airport (1970), for which he received his only Oscar nomination. It was such a success that in 1973, he noted that “for three years, Universal’s been living on Airport.” He ended his long career at Universal joining Columbia in 1971 and then Paramount in 1974, where he produced TV movies. —IMDb