Buddy Adler

A production chief at 20th Century Fox from 1956 until his death, Buddy Adler began his career writing ad copy for his father's elevator-shoe company. After penning several short stories, he moved from shoe business to show business when MGM signed him to a writing contract. During his tenure at that studio in the 1930s and 40s, Adler scripted several short films.

After military service in the US Signal Corps, he returned to Hollywood and became a producer at Columbia where he oversaw such diverse projects as the film noir "The Dark Past" (1948), Margaret Sullavan's last vehicle "No Sad Songs for Me" (1950) and 1953's Oscar-winning Best Picture "From Here To Eternity."

Although most of the films he subsequently produced were solid commercial hits such as "Love Is a Many Splendored Thing" (1955) "Anastasia" (1956) and "South Pacific" (1958), he was also responsible for the hard-hitting drug melodrama "A Hatful of Rain" (1957).

At his untimely death from cancer at age 54 in 1960, Adler was assisting in the preparations for "Cleopatra" (1963).