Howard Gottfried

Howard Gottfried was an American film and television producer.

Gottfried graduated from City College of New York and the NYU School of Law. He began practicing law in New York and, in his spare time, produced off-Broadway theater.

Gottfried eventually landed an executive gig at United Artists, where he oversaw the company's involvement in such TV shows as Gilligan's Island, The Patty Duke Show and The Fugitive. He then moved to Ed Sullivan Productions to oversee development.

Gottfried's first producing effort was the film version of Arthur Hiller's novel The Hospital. He would later earn an Academy Award nomination for producing Sidney Lumet's Network.

Gottfried also produced the films Altered States, Body Double, and Torch Song Trilogy, starring Harvey Fierstein in the adaptation of the smash Broadway hit.

Gottfried died December 8, 2017, in Los Angeles, CA. He was 94.