Ernst Goldschmidt Dies: Orion Pictures Co-Founder And Seller Of James Bond, Woody Allen & Beatles Movies Was 92

Max Goldbart
·2 min read
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Ernst Goldschmidt, the sales agent who co-founded Orion Pictures and oversaw distribution of some of last century’s biggest movies, died last month from heart failure in his hometown of Badenweller in Germany. He was 92.

The respected exec’s December 2 death was announced by his family.

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Starting his career in 1957 as a salesman with MGM in Zurich, Goldschmidt joined United Artists (UA) in 1958 as General Manager of their Swiss office, before taking the reins at UA/Germany. He was promoted to European Sales Manager in Paris in 1968 and then named President of UA Europe two years later, a post he held for five years. UA relocated him to New York in 1975 as VP International Sales at the time when it was distributing films from the likes of Woody Allen, Sylvester Stallone, Saul Zaentz, Milos Forman and Brian de Palma.

During his 22-year tenure at UA, Goldschmidt oversaw international distribution on the James Bond franchise, the Beatles movies, The Graduate, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Rocky and Annie Hall.

He left to found Orion with a senior management grouping in 1975 and became Chairman of International, helping lead Orion to become a successful independent releasing Woody Allen films, 10, Terminator and Platoon, and winning four Best Picture Academy Awards.

Goldschmidt left Orion in 1988 to form his own production and distribution company Sovereign Pictures. He then returned to Europe, joining Pandora Cinema in Paris as President of International and during his tenure overseeing distribution of the multi-Oscar winning Shine and International Feature Oscar winner, Kolya.

He is survived by his wife Marie Therese, first wife Rennee, their two children Patrick and Deborah and several grandchildren.

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