Lawrence Turman, Oscar-nominated producer of ‘The Graduate’, dies aged 96
Lawrence Turman, the Oscar-nominated producer of the 1967’s The Graduate, has died aged 96.
Turman passed away on Saturday at the Motion Picture and Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles. His family announced the news.
His son, John Turman, confirmed his father’s passing to Deadline. “Our father Lawrence Turman passed away late yesterday. It’s sad but he had a long and storied life and its the passing of an era.” He also added that the Motion Picture and Television Country House is planning a memorial service at the University of Southern California (USC) soon.
Elizabeth M. Daley, Dean of the School of Cinematic Arts at USC, explained in her statement: “Larry led a remarkable life for 96 years and we were fortunate to share part of it with him. Larry was a movie industry legend. His fifty-year career gave us classics like The Graduate, for which he was nominated for an Oscar, The Great White Hope, The Thing, and American History X, and made him the expert on the critical role of Producers in film.”
Lawrence Turman was a former agent, and in 1974, alongside producer David Foster, he embarked on a lengthy partnership. The first project released by their company, Turman Foster Co., was Stuart Rosenberg’s 1975 effort, The Drowning Pool, starring Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward. The pair then split in 1991 when Turman left to begin a collaboration with the Peter Stark Producing Program at USC, which lasted until he retired in 2021.
In 1996, he and John Morrissey launched Turman-Morrissey Co., the company behind the Jamie Foxx-featuring 1997 title Booty Call, Tony Kaye’s American History X from the following year – which saw star Edward Norton nominated for an Oscar – and the LL Cool J comedy, Kingdom Come.
Turman directed two feature-length movies in his time, on which he also served as producer. The first was 1971’s The Marriage of a Young Stockbroker, and the second, 1983’s Second Thoughts.
Truman produced more than 30 titles during his career. “I initiate every single film project upon which I work; most of them would not have seen the light of day had I not decided to make them,” he explained in his 2005 memoir, So You Want to Be a Producer. “I’m the starter and also the finisher.”
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