Lawrence Turman, Oscar-Nominated Producer of 'The Graduate,' Dead at 96

He also produced the films 'The Great White Hope,' 'The Best Man' and 'American History X'

Lawrence Turman, the Oscar-nominated producer of The Graduate, died on Saturday at the age of 96.

He died at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, Calif., his family announced, per The Hollywood Reporter.

Turman's Hollywood career spanned 50 years and included work on more than 30 films, including The Great White Hope, Pretty Poison and American History X. He also served as the chair of USC’s Peter Stark Producing program from 1991 until he retired in 2021, according to Variety.

A graduate of UCLA, Turman began his career as an agent before moving into producing, including working on Judy Garland's last film, 1963's I Could Go On Singing.

After coming across a New York Times review of Charlie Webb's book The Graduate, he put together financing and casting, recruited Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel to make music for the movie, and tapped the young, up-and-coming director Mike Nichols. The film, released in 1967 and starring Dustin Hoffman and Anne Bancroft, won seven Academy Awards including best picture and best director for Nichols.

“He was proud of telling the story how every studio in town turned the project down, twice,” Turman's family recounted to Variety.

In 1974, Turman forged what would be a 20-year partnership with producer David Foster and went on to make The Drowning Pool, Caveman, Heroes, The Thing, Running Scared, the 1994 reboot of The Getaway and The River Wild. The pair went their separate ways in 1991 when Turman left to oversee the Peter Stark Producing program.

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During his tenure at USC, Turman continued to produce into the 2000s, and also directed and produced Marriage of a Young Stockbroker and Second Thoughts, starring Lucie Arnaz.

Related: Alan Arkin, Oscar-Winning 'Little Miss Sunshine' Actor, Dead at 89 (Exclusive)

He published a book in 2005 about his career in Hollywood titled So You Want to Be a Producer.

“I initiate every single film project upon which I work; most of them would not have seen the light of day had I not decided to make them,” he wrote in the book, per THR. “I’m the starter and also the finisher.”

Turman is survived by three sons, John, Andrew and Peter; four grandchildren, Audrey Suzanne, Carter Isaac, Georgia Simone and Olivia Veranique; and two nieces, Katherine and Suzanna.

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