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George Glass

This article is about the American film producer. For the United States Ambassador to Portugal, see George Edward Glass. For the scholar and chaplain, see George Glasse.

George Glass (August 19, 1910 – April 1, 1984) was an American film producer and publicist, best known for his work with Stanley Kramer. In Kramer's 1997 autobiography, describing how he formed his first production company in the late 1940s, he called Glass "one of the best publicity men in town", and remarked "I was fortunate to get Glass, with whom I had worked in the Lewin-Loew partnership before the war. He was a bright man and a very smooth operator."[1] In a 1973 biography of Marlon Brando, Bob Thomas wrote:

George Glass
George Glass c.1960
Born(1910-08-19)August 19, 1910
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
DiedApril 1, 1984(1984-04-01) (aged 73)
Ventura, California, U.S.
Occupation(s)Film producer, publicist
Years active1936–1971
SpouseHarriet Glass (née Galblum)

George Glass was a veteran of movie publicity, but he was more than a publicist for Kramer. He, Kramer and Carl Foreman were partners in the independent film company, and Glass's brilliant campaigns for Champion and Home of the Brave had been a major part of the company's success. A short, stubby, ebullient man, he performed his craft on the basis of telling the truth.[2]

Career

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Glass began his career in the entertainment industry as a radio news commentator and sports broadcaster, but left radio for films in 1936 to work in advertising and publicity capacities for Samuel Goldwyn, United Artists, and others.[3] With Kramer's company, in addition to being the head publicist, Glass often acted as associate producer, sometimes uncredited (as for High Noon[4]), and sometimes with screen credit (as for Cyrano de Bergerac[5][6] and The Men[7]). Other productions from this period include Death of a Salesman[8] and The Wild One, for which Glass suggested the title.[9]

In 1956, Glass and Walter Seltzer started a freelance publicity organization, described in the press as a collaboration of "two of the most experienced and able drum beaters" in Hollywood.[10] After Brando formed his own production company, Pennebaker Productions, Glass and Seltzer joined him[11] as executive producers, and together they turned out a number of films including Shake Hands with the Devil, The Naked Edge, Paris Blues and One-Eyed Jacks.[12]

Glass was elected to the executive board of the Screen Producers Guild in 1960, along with Mervyn LeRoy.[13] He continued to work with Kramer for many years as an associate producer, with additional credits including Guess Who's Coming to Dinner,[14] The Secret of Santa Vittoria,[15] Bless the Beasts and Children[16] and R. P. M.[17]

Congressional testimony

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In January 1952, Glass testified before the House Committee on Un-American Activities. In his testimony, he described attending gatherings at the homes of Ring Lardner, Jr. and other members of the entertainment industry in the mid-1940s, at which he was urged to become a member of the Communist Political Association.[18]

Quotations

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Glass is credited by several sources with originating the witticism, "An actor is a kind of guy who if you ain't talking about him [, he] ain't listening."[19][20][21] That line has also been attributed to Brando, who reportedly heard it from Glass and quoted it many times.[22][23]

References

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  1. ^ Kramer, Stanley and Thomas M. Coffey. A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World: A Life in Hollywood. New York: Harcourt, Brace and Co., 1997. p. 9. ISBN 0-15-154958-3
  2. ^ Thomas, Bob. Marlon: Portrait of the Rebel as an Artist. New York: Random House, 1973. p. 55. ISBN 0-394-48728-1
  3. ^ Spear, Ivan. "Press-Agents Who Became Successful Producers." Boxoffice. May 29, 1948. pp. 22-23. Scan available at Internet Archive (retrieved 2-December-2022).
  4. ^ Byman, Jeremy. Showdown at High Noon: Witch-Hunts, Critics, and the End of the Western. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2004. p. 35. ISBN 0-8108-4998-4
  5. ^ The American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures Produced in the United States: Feature Films, 1941 - 1950. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1999. p. 526. ISBN 0-520-21521-4
  6. ^ Cyrano de Bergerac, Dir. Michael Gordon, 1950. DVD: Alpha Video, 2003.
  7. ^ The American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures Produced in the United States: Within Our Gates: Ethnicity in American Feature Films, 1911-1960. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1997. p. 655. ISBN 978-0-520-20964-0
  8. ^ Blum, Daniel. Daniel Blum's Screen World 1953. New York: Biblo & Tannen, 1969 (reprint). Volume IV, p. 15.
  9. ^ Thomas, p. 82.
  10. ^ "George Glass, Walter Seltzer Form Publicity Organization." Boxoffice. Nov. 17, 1956. p. 28. Scan available at Yumpu (retrieved 2-December-2022).
  11. ^ Thomas, p. 131.
  12. ^ "George Glass, Walter Seltzer End Pennebaker Affiliation." Boxoffice. Apr. 24, 1961. p. 16. Scan available at Internet Archive (retrieved 2-December-2022).
  13. ^ "Walter Mirisch Renamed President of Producers." Boxoffice. May 9, 1960. p. W-1. Scan available at Yumpu (retrieved 2-December-2022).
  14. ^ The American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures Produced in the United States: Feature Films, 1961-1970. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1997. p. 436. ISBN 0-520-20970-2
  15. ^ Ibid., p. 953.
  16. ^ Sigoloff, Marc. The Films of the Seventies: A Filmography of American, British and Canadian Films 1970-1979. Jefferson, NC: McFarland and Company, 1984. p. 33. ISBN 0-7864-0882-0.
  17. ^ Ibid., p. 243.
  18. ^ Communist Activities among Professional Groups in the Los Angeles Area - Part 1: Hearings before the Committee on Un-American Activities, House of Representatives, Eighty-second Congress, Second Session, January 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, and 26, and April 9, 1952. Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office, 1952. pp. 2487-2495. Scan available at archive.org (retrieved: 8-September-2010).
  19. ^ Famous Lines: The Columbia Dictionary of Familiar Quotations. New York: Columbia University Press, 1996. p. 5. ISBN 0-231-10218-6.
  20. ^ Shapiro, Fred R. and Joseph Epstein. The Yale Book of Quotations. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2006. p. 313. ISBN 0-300-10798-6.
  21. ^ See alternate wording at Quoteland, Dictionary Quotes Quotltr(all retrieved: 2-December-2022).
  22. ^ Thomas, p. 55.
  23. ^ See review of pertinent sources at Quote Investigator (retrieved: 1-Nov-2014).

Further reading

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  • Frankel, Glenn (2017). High Noon: The Hollywood Blacklist and the Making of an American Classic. New York: Bloomsbury USA. ISBN 978-1-62040-948-0. Provides details about the subject's business relationship with Stanley Kramer, and his role in the events that led to the blacklisting of Carl Foreman.
  • Newquist, Roy (1972). A Special Kind of Magic. New York: Pyramid Books. pp. 49–54. ISBN 0-515-02767-7. Interview with the subject in which he describes his career and his work with Kramer.
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