Hugh McCollum | |
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Born | Ridley Park, Pennsylvania U.S. | March 9, 1900
Died | March 16, 1968 68) Corona del Mar, Newport Beach, California U.S. | (aged
Years active | 1929-1960 |
Spouse(s) | Josephine Chippo |
Hugh McCollum (March 9, 1900 –March 16, 1968) was an American film producer best known for his credits on Three Stooges short subject comedies.
A film producer is a person who oversees film production. Either employed by a production company or working independently, producers plan and coordinate various aspects of film production, such as selecting the script; coordinating writing, directing, and editing; and arranging financing.
McCollum was born in the Philadelphia suburb of Ridley Park, Pennsylvania. He attended the Episcopal Academy in Philadelphia and later matriculated at the University of Pennsylvania for one year. [1] In 1929, McCollum was hired as a secretary to the Columbia Pictures head Harry Cohn. He gradually worked his way up the corporate ladder, and when the studio's short-subject department became successful enough to support two units, department head Jules White led the first unit, and Hugh McCollum was placed in charge of the second. [1]
Philadelphia, sometimes known colloquially as Philly, is the largest city in the U.S. state and Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and the sixth-most populous U.S. city, with a 2017 census-estimated population of 1,580,863. Since 1854, the city has been coterminous with Philadelphia County, the most populous county in Pennsylvania and the urban core of the eighth-largest U.S. metropolitan statistical area, with over 6 million residents as of 2017. Philadelphia is also the economic and cultural anchor of the greater Delaware Valley, located along the lower Delaware and Schuylkill Rivers, within the Northeast megalopolis. The Delaware Valley's population of 7.2 million ranks it as the eighth-largest combined statistical area in the United States.
Ridley Park is a borough in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 7,002 at the 2010 census. Ridley Park is the home of The Boeing Company's CH-47 Chinook helicopter division.
Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state located in the northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The Appalachian Mountains run through its middle. The Commonwealth is bordered by Delaware to the southeast, Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, Lake Erie and the Canadian province of Ontario to the northwest, New York to the north, and New Jersey to the east.
In 1945, McCollum gave Columbia sound engineer Edward Bernds an opportunity to write scripts for the shorts department, and then to direct. His first assignment in the director's chair was the Three Stooges film A Bird in the Head (1946). Bernds was excited at his big chance, but was shocked when he saw that popular Stooge Curly Howard was ill, having suffered several minor strokes prior to filming (something Jules White failed to mention to Bernds). [2] Years later, Bernds discussed his trying experience during the filming of A Bird in the Head:
Edward Bernds was an American screenwriter and director, born in Chicago, Illinois.
A Bird in the Head is the 89th short film released by Columbia Pictures in 1946 starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges. The comedians released 190 short films for the studio between 1934 and 1959.
Jerome Lester Horwitz, known professionally as Curly Howard, was an American vaudevillian comedian and actor. He was best known as a member of the American farce comedy team the Three Stooges, which also featured his elder brothers Moe and Shemp Howard and actor Larry Fine. Curly Howard was generally considered the most popular and recognizable of the Stooges. He was well known for his high-pitched voice and vocal expressions, as well as his physical comedy, improvisations, and athleticism. An untrained actor, Curly borrowed the "woob woob" from "nervous" and soft-spoken comedian Hugh Herbert. Curly's unique version of "woob-woob-woob" was firmly established by the time of the Stooges' second Columbia film, Punch Drunks (1934).
“ | It was an awful tough deal for a novice rookie director to have a Curly who wasn't himself. [3] I had seen Curly at his greatest and his work in this film was far from great. The wallpaper scene was agony to direct because of the physical movements required to roll up the wallpaper and to react when it curled up in him. It just didn't work. As a fledgling director, my plans were based on doing everything in one nice neat shot. But when I saw the scenes were not playing, I had to improvise and use other angles to make it play. It was the wallpaper scene that we shot first, and during the first two hours of filming, I became aware that we had a problem with Curly. [2] | ” |
Bernds feared that his directing days would be over as soon as they began if A Bird in the Head (featuring a sluggish Curly) was released as his first effort. Hugh McCollum acted quickly, and reshuffled the release order of the films Bernds had directed (Bernds had also completed Micro-Phonies and The Three Troubledoers (1946) in addition to A Bird in the Head). As a result, the superior Micro-Phonies (in which Curly was on his mark) was released first, securing Bernds's directing position. Bernds would forever be indebted to McCollum for this act of kindness; henceforth, McCollum produced all of Bernds's Stooge films. [3]
The Three Troubledoers is a 1946 film directed by Edward Bernds and starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges. It is the 91st short film released by Columbia Pictures starring the comedians, who released 190 short films for the studio between 1934 and 1959.
Micro-Phonies is the 87th short film released by Columbia Pictures in 1945 starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges. The comedians released 190 short films for the studio between 1934 and 1959.
McCollum continued to function as a short-subject producer, in close collaboration with writer-director Edward Bernds and writer Elwood Ullman. Columbia's comedy stars alternated between the McCollum and Jules White units. Unlike White, who personally directed most of his productions, McCollum preferred to concentrate on the business aspects of production, and directed only a few films. McCollum's attention to the studio's business activities paid off when he arranged to use sets and costumes commissioned for important Columbia feature films. This efficient, money-saving arrangement gave McCollum's productions a much glossier look than usual.
Elwood Ullman was an American film comedy writer most famous for his credits on The Three Stooges shorts and many other low-budget comedies.
When Bernds was unavailable, McCollum directed Hula-La-La (1951), a South Seas satire with the Stooges.
Hula-La-La is the 135th short film released by Columbia Pictures in 1951 starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges. The comedians released 190 short films for the studio between 1934 and 1959.
Both McCollum and Bernds often clashed with White, and when Columbia downsized the shorts department in 1952, White convinced the studio executives that two units were no longer necessary, resulting in McCollum's dismissal. Out of loyalty to McCollum, Bernds resigned as well, leaving White to run the entire short subject department alone. This left White as the sole director of the Stooges films from late 1952 to 1957 when the Stooges' contract with the studio expired. [4]
After Columbia, McCollum became the production manager for Gene Autry's Flying A Productions, [1] then served as production manager for Jack Wrather Productions, a position he continued until his retirement. [5] [6]
Hugh McCollum died on March 16, 1968, in the Corona del Mar section of Newport Beach, California. [7]
The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy team active from 1922 until 1970, best known for their 190 short subject films by Columbia Pictures that have been regularly airing on television since 1958. Their hallmark was physical farce and slapstick. Six stooges appeared over the act's run : Moe Howard and Larry Fine were mainstays throughout the ensemble's nearly fifty-year run and the pivotal "third Stooge" was played by Shemp Howard, Curly Howard, Shemp Howard again, Joe Besser, and Curly Joe DeRita.
Delmar "Del" Lord was a Canadian film director and actor best known as a director of Three Stooges films.
The New Three Stooges is an American animated television series that ran from 1965 to 1966 starring the Three Stooges. The show follows the trio's antics both in live-action and animated segments. The cast consisted of Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Joe "Curly Joe" DeRita, with actor and close friend Emil Sitka co-starring, as well as Margaret Kerry.
Christine Cecilia McIntyre was an American actress and singer who appeared in various films in the 1930s and 1940s. She is mainly remembered as the beautiful blonde actress who appeared in many of The Three Stooges shorts produced by Columbia Pictures.
Jules White was a Hungarian-born American film director and producer best known for his short-subject comedies starring The Three Stooges.
Rhythm and Weep a 1946 film directed by Jules White. It is the 95th short film released by Columbia Pictures starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges. The comedians released 190 short films for the studio between 1934 and 1959.
Three Missing Links is a 1938 film directed by Jules White and starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges. It is the 33rd short film released by Columbia Pictures starring the comedians, who released 190 short films for the studio between 1934 and 1959.
Space Ship Sappy is 1957 film directed by Jules White and starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges. It is the 178th short film released by Columbia Pictures starring the comedians, who released 190 short films for the studio between 1934 and 1959.
Stop! Look! and Laugh! is a 1960 feature-length Three Stooges compilation featuring Moe Howard, Larry Fine, and Curly Howard. Eleven of the Stooges shorts were shown and bridged together with segments featuring Paul Winchell and his dummies, Jerry Mahoney and Knucklehead Smiff. Near the end of the film, the Marquis Chimps perform a version of Cinderella narrated in rhyme by Winchell with June Foray providing female voices as part of Knucklehead's bedtime story. New York Stooges TV host Officer Joe Bolton has a cameo as a customer in a cafe.
Scheming Schemers is a 1956 film directed by Jules White. It is the 173rd short film released by Columbia Pictures starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges. The comedians released 190 short films for the studio between 1934 and 1959.
Monkey Businessmen is the 92nd short film released by Columbia Pictures in 1946 starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges. The comedians released 190 short films for the studio between 1934 and 1959.
Three Loan Wolves is a 1946 film directed by Jules White and starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges. It is the 93rd short film released by Columbia Pictures starring the comedians, who released 190 short films for the studio between 1934 and 1959.
G.I. Wanna Home is the 94th short film released by Columbia Pictures in 1946 starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges. The comedians released 190 short films for the studio between 1934 and 1959.
Three Little Pirates is a 1946 film directed by Edward Bernds and starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges. It is the 96th short film released by Columbia Pictures starring the comedians, who released 190 short films for the studio between 1934 and 1959. It was known as Curly's final full-length performance as a stooge; due to deteriorating health.
Jack White was a Hungarian-born American film producer, director and writer. His career in the film industry began in the late 1910s and continued until the early 1960s. White produced over 300 films; directed more than 60 of these, and wrote more than 50. He directed some of his sound comedies under the pseudonym "Preston Black."