Zev Braun

Infobox Actor
name = Zev Braun


imagesize = 240px
caption =
birthdate = birth date and age|1928|10|19
birthplace = Chicago, Illinois
birthname =
othername =
occupation = film producer
spouse =
website =

Zev Braun (born October 19, 1928 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American motion picture producer. Though much of his work is in television (most notably as the executive producer of the "Tour of Duty" series) he has been a successful filmmaker since the early 1960s and continues to produce films for the big screen.

Braun’s all-consuming interest in filmmaking led him fresh from studying Humanities and Classic Arts at the University of Chicago to enter movies while still serving as President of Braun International, his family’s packaging firm.

Career

1960's

In 1964, his production of GOLDSTEIN [Goldstein - IMDb -http://pro.imdb.com/title/tt0144947/] won the Prix de la Nouvelle Critique at the Cannes Film Festival [ [http://www.festival-cannes.fr/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/3078/year/1964.html Festival de Cannes : Film details 1964 ] ] .

1970's

In 1974, his co-production of Maximilian Schell’s THE PEDESTRIAN [The Pedestrian - IMDb - http://pro.imdb.com/title/tt0070086/maindetails] won the Golden Globe Award [ [http://www.goldenglobes.org/browse/film/25477 HFPA - Awards Search ] ] as Best Foreign Film and was nominated for an Academy Award in the same category [ [http://pro.imdb.com/title/tt0070086/awards IMDbPro.com Free Trial Signup ] ] . His production of THE LITTLE GIRL WHO LIVES DOWN THE LANE [The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane - IMDb - http://pro.imdb.com/title/tt0074806/] , starring Jodie Foster and Martin Sheen, was voted Best Horror Film by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films [ [http://www.saturnawards.org/past.html Past Saturn Awards ] ] .

Some of Braun’s other productions in the 1970s include: ANGELA [Angela - IMDb - http://pro.imdb.com/title/tt0075681/] , starring Sophia Loren and John Huston; FREEDOM ROAD [Freedom Road - IMDb - http://pro.imdb.com/title/tt0079173/] , starring Muhammad Ali and Kris Kristofferson; and THE FIENDISH PLOT OF DR. FU MANCHU [The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchu - IMDb -http://pro.imdb.com/title/tt0080731/] , starring Peter Sellers and Helen Mirren.

1980's

In 1986, Braun again teamed up with director Schell to co-produce MARLENE [Marlene - IMDb - http://pro.imdb.com/title/tt0085905/] , which earned him another Academy Award nomination for Best Documentary Feature along with winning the New York Film Critics Award, The National Society of Film Critics Award and the National Board of Review Award [ [http://pro.imdb.com/title/tt0085905/awards IMDbPro.com Free Trial Signup ] ] .

The 1987-88 television season saw Braun's company bring to the screen a two-hour movie-for-television, STILLWATCH [Stillwatch - IMDb - http://pro.imdb.com/title/tt0094041/] , starring Lynda Carter and Angie Dickinson; a four-hour mini-series, MURDER ORDAINED [Murder Ordained - IMDb - http://pro.imdb.com/title/tt0093583/] , starring JoBeth Williams, Keith Carradine and Terry Kinney; a two-hour NBC movie, THE FATHER CLEMENTS STORY [The Father Clements Story - IMDb - http://pro.imdb.com/title/tt0093013/] , starring Louis Gossett, Jr., Malcolm-Jamal Warner and Carroll O’Connor (winner of the Christopher Award and CEBA Award). TOUR OF DUTY [Tour Of Duty - IMDb - http://pro.imdb.com/title/tt0092468/] , the highly acclaimed weekly prime-time series about the Vietnam War, also premiered in 1987 and ran for three successful seasons on CBS. Other television series from Braun include MURPHY’S LAW [Murphy's Law - IMDb - http://pro.imdb.com/title/tt0094515/] , starring George Segal, which ran on ABC and BAGDAD CAFÉ [Bagdad Cafe - IMDb - http://pro.imdb.com/title/tt0098746/] , starring Whoopie Goldberg and Jean Stapleton for CBS.

Another of Braun’s productions in the 1980s is WHERE ARE THE CHILDREN [Where Are the Children? - IMDb -http://pro.imdb.com/title/tt0092204/] , starring Jill Clayburgh and Frederick Forrest.

1990's

In 1991, Braun executive produced A SEDUCTION IN TRAVIS COUNTY [A Seduction In Travis County - IMDb - http://pro.imdb.com/title/tt0102870/] , a two-hour movie for CBS, starring Lesley Ann Warren, Peter Coyote and Jean Smart. Expanding into the cable marketplace, he executive produced SPLIT IMAGES [Split Images - IMDb - http://pro.imdb.com/title/tt0105458/] , a two-hour movie based upon the best selling novel by Elmore Leonard and starring Gregory Harrison. In 1994, Braun executive produced the critically praised four-hour mini-series MENENDEZ: A KILLING IN BEVERLY HILLS [Menendez: A Killing In Beverly Hills - IMDb - http://pro.imdb.com/title/tt0110492/] for CBS starring Edward James Olmos and Beverly D'Angelo. Also that year at CBS was DOMINICK DUNNE’S 919 FIFTH AVENUE [919 Fifth Avenue - IMDb - http://pro.imdb.com/title/tt0112265/] , a two-hour pilot movie that starred James Marsden and Denise Richards.

In 1996, ABDUCTED: A FATHER’S LOVE [Abducted: A Father's Love - IMDb - http://pro.imdb.com/title/tt0115449/] , a two-hour NBC movie starring Chris Noth, Peter MacNicol and Stepfanie Kramer, turned out to be one of the highest rated television movies for the year and was highly acclaimed, as well. LETHAL VOWS [Lethal Vows - IMDb - http://pro.imdb.com/title/tt0212304/] , starring John Ritter and Marg Helgenberger, aired on CBS in 1999, and proved to be the network's highest rated prime time program for the first 10 months of the year.

Braun then produced EDGES OF THE LORD [Edges of the Lord - IMDb - http://pro.imdb.com/title/tt0245090/] , a feature film shot in Poland and starring Haley Joel Osment and Willem Dafoe, distributed by Miramax Films.

2000's

Braun executive produced the CBS 2005 May Sweeps entry, AMBER FREY: WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION [Amber Frey: Witness for the Prosecution - IMDb - http://pro.imdb.com/title/tt0448180/] starring Janel Moloney and Terry Kinney.

Most recently, Braun won a GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Movie for Television [ [http://www.glaad.org/media/release_detail.php?id=4009 GLAAD: Award Recipients: 18th Annual GLAAD Media Awards, Westin St. Francis in San Francisco ] ] for the highly rated movie he produced for Lifetime Television, A GIRL LIKE ME: THE GWEN ARAUJO STORY [A Girl Like Me - IMDb - http://pro.imdb.com/title/tt0787484/] , directed by Agnieszka Holland starring Mercedes Ruehl.

Personal life

Zev Braun is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, as well as the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. He serves on the Board of Trustees for The American Foundation for AIDS Research (amFAR) [ [http://www.amfar.org/cgi-bin/iowa/amfar/leadership/record.html?record=2 amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research Leadership ] ] and the Board of Governers for The Heart Touch Project [ [http://www.hearttouch.org/html/board-of-directors.html The Heart Touch Project - Board of Directors ] ] . Zev Braun was also a founding member of the Board of Directors for GIRF (the Gastro-Intestinal Research Foundation) of the University of Chicago hospital and served as the Chairman of the Board for the International Kidney Institute at UCLA. Braun also served as a member of the Board of Trustees for the Sabin Vaccine Institute. He was awarded the City of Hope’s Golden Key for his work in connection with this organization.

He is the father of the current Rice University Men's Basketball head coach Ben Braun [ [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/archive/2002/01/25/SP95202.DTL Sweep down south / Bears go to OT for dramatic win ] ] .

Braun currently resides in Los Angeles and is the CEO of Braun Entertainment Group based in Beverly Hills.

References

External links

* [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0105881/ IMDb entry]
* [http://pro.imdb.com/company/co0150508/ Braun Entertainment Group IMDb]
* [http://www.braunentertainmentgroup.com/ Braun Entertainment Group Website]

Persondata
NAME= Braun, Zev
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION= film producer
DATE OF BIRTH= 1928-10-19
PLACE OF BIRTH= Chicago, Illinois
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=