Martin Nelson Ransohoff (July 7, 1927[1] – December 13, 2017) was an American film and television producer,[2] and member of the Ransohoff family.
Early life and education
Ransohoff was born on July 7, 1927, in New Orleans, Louisiana[1][3] the son of Babette (Strauss) and Arthur Ransohoff.[4] His mother was a former Republican National Committeewoman.[4] He had one sister Barbara Burnett (married to a former Washington & Jefferson College president Howard J. Burnett) and one brother Jack, a nuclear engineer.[4][5] He attended Wooster School in Danbury, Connecticut and graduated with a B.A. in History and English from Colgate University in 1948.[3]
After school, Ransohoff worked at several jobs (peddling housewares door-to-door, selling autos, and working at an advertising agency), before joining Caravel Films (later Transfilm-Caravel) in 1950 in New York City, where he worked as a salesman, writer, and producer.[3]
Filmways
In 1952, Ransohoff co-founded the film production company Filmways, Inc. with Edwin Kasper (Kasper left the firm in 1957).[3]
The firm listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 1959.[3] Filmways started making TV commercials, moved into documentaries, then sitcoms; by 1963 Filmways was making $13 million a year.[6]Mister Ed and The Beverly Hillbillies brought Ransohoff his first successes in 1960 and 1962. Thereafter he turned his attention to films.[7]
Ransohoff was married twice. His first wife was Nancy Hope Lundgren; they had four children Peter (born 1952), Karen (born 1954), and twins Steven and Kurt (born 1957).[3] His second wife was Joan Marie Ransohoff,[citation needed] an artist.[17] Ransohoff died on December 13, 2017, at his Bel Air home in Los Angeles. He was 90.[18]
^"OBITUARIES: Barbara R. Burnett, wife of Dr. Howard J. Burnett, president of Washington & Jefferson College, died of heart failure Wednesday in – Sarasota, Florida". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. March 15, 1991. Mrs. Burnett, 60, of Washington, Washington County, graduated in 1952 with a bachelor's degree in political science from Mount Holyoke College. She worked as a sales clerk for B.H. Blackwell's in Oxford, England, in 1953 and 1954.In the 1960s, she was the circulation manager for the Finger Lakes Chronicle magazine in Corning, N.Y. Mrs. Burnett moved to Washington in July 1970, when her husband was named president of Washington lit Jefferson College....In addition to her husband, Mrs. Burnett is survived by two daughters, Lee Berman of Stamford, Conn., and Susan Petito of New York City; a son, Mark of Lexington, Massachusetts; three grandchildren; her mother, Babette Ransohoff of Stamford; and two brothers, Jack and Martin Ransohoff....Services will 'be at 11 a.m. Monday in First Presbyterian Church of Washington
^Scheuer, Philip K. (February 18, 1963). "Martin Ransohoff Expands Program: Success in TV Encourages $10 Million Movie Gamble". Los Angeles Times. p. C11.
^Scheuer, P. K. (February 18, 1963). "Martin ransohoff expands program". Los Angeles Times. ProQuest168299305.
^SEIDENBAUM, A. (February 12, 1964). "A real live(ly) production". Los Angeles Times. ProQuest168523332.
^Bathollywood, Peter (January 3, 1965). "Message Merchant On The Run". New York Times. p. X9.
^"Filmways' Ransohoff Quits As President and Director". Wall Street Journal. September 8, 1972. p. 25.
^Lawrence Laurent (January 19, 1966). "Radio and Television Martin Ransohoff Knows His Market". The Washington Post and Times-Herald. p. C5.
^"RANSOHOFF SIGNED BY PARAMOUNT PICTURES". Los Angeles Times. October 2, 1972. ProQuest157036779.