Phil Borack, producer of 'Harper Valley PTA,' Chattanooga Choo Choo,' has died at 84

Jeff Suess, Cincinnati Enquirer
·1 min read
September 13, 1981: Phil Borack, producer of the film “Harper Valley P.T.A.”
September 13, 1981: Phil Borack, producer of the film “Harper Valley P.T.A.”

Phil Borack, the Cincinnati film producer who made the 1978 movie “Harper Valley PTA,” died April 14 of heart disease, according to Deadline and Cincinnati radio station WVXU. He was 84.

The racy comedy, based on a song by Jeannie C. Riley and starring Barbara Eden of “I Dream of Jeannie” fame, was filmed in Lebanon, Ohio, in October 1977.

Borack was ahead of the game, filming in Greater Cincinnati a decade before “Rain Man” and “Eight Men Out” came to town.

Borack also produced the 1984 movie “Chattanooga Choo Choo” starring Eden.

“I believe you can make films that are entertaining and commercially successful. They may not necessarily win awards, but neither will they offend sophisticated audiences,” he told The Enquirer, part of the USA TODAY Network, in 1983.

Borack was the founder of Tri-State Theatre Service, a Cincinnati-based film distributor, and served as president until 1996, according to Enquirer files.

He was also a co-owner of The Movies repertory cinema on Race Street in downtown Cincinnati.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Phil Borack, producer of 'Harper Valley PTA,' has died at age 84