Famous Film Producers a to z

Director, producer and playwright George Abbott lived to be 107 and participated in such Broadway productions as Boy Meets Girl, The Fall Guy and Our Town.

Actress Drew Barrymore gained early fame as a child star. She later struggled with substance abuse and notoriety, before re-emerging as a talented actress and producer.

Roberto Benigni is an Italian actor, director and producer best known for his 1997 Oscar winning film La Vita e Bella (Life is Beautiful).

Ingmar Bergman was a Swedish director and producer best known for films such as The Seventh Sea (1956), Cries and Whispers (1971) and Autumn Sonata (1978).

James L. Brooks is an American director, producer and screenwriter, best-known for The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Rhoda and Taxi.

Mel Brooks is an iconic filmmaker known for comedies like The Producers, Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein, among other works.

Irish actor Pierce Brosnan is best known for his recurring role as British spy James Bond in the popular James Bond film series.

Jerry Bruckheimer is an American film and television producer who brought audiences the film Top Gun and the television series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.

Director, producer and screenwriter Tim Burton is known for such films as Beetlejuice and Edward Scissorhands, which blend themes of fantasy and horror.

Oscar-winning director James Cameron is best known for the highly acclaimed, box-office hits Aliens (1986), Titanic (1997) and Avatar (2009).

Nick Carter from the pop group the Backstreet Boys is also known for once dating Paris Hilton, starring in a reality TV show and overcoming drug and alcohol addiction.

Dave Chappelle is a comedian whose Comedy Central show Chappelle's Show became a smash hit in the mid-2000s.

Oscar-winning Scottish actor Sean Connery played "007" in the first James Bond spy movies. He also played the Indiane Jones's father in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

Director, producer and screenwriter Francis Ford Coppola is best known for creating The Godfather film series starring Marlon Brando and Al Pacino.

Sofia Coppola is a film director, screenwriter, producer and actor. She directed The Virgin Suicides and Lost in Translation, winning an Oscar for the latter.

Roger Corman is a film director and producer who helmed B-Movie classics and helped launch the careers of James Cameron, John Sayles, Ron Howard and others.

Wes Craven is a horror film director, screenwriter and producer known for projects like Swamp Thing, Nightmare on Elm Street and the Scream series.

Michael Crichton was an American author best known for his sci-fi and medical thrillers. The movie based on his book, Jurassic Park, was one of the highest-grossing films in history.

A-list actor and Scientologist Tom Cruise is the star of many box office hits, including Risky Business, A Few Good Men, The Firm, and Jerry Maguire.

Jon Cryer is known for his Emmy-winning role as a single dad on TV's Two and a Half Men as well as his films, especially the '80s teen flick Pretty in Pink.

Stephen Daldry is a three-time Oscar nominated director known for the films Billy Elliot, The Hours and The Reader.

Roger Daltrey is a rock musician and singer who’s the former lead vocalist of The Who. He’s also a film and TV actor.

Director and producer Ted Demme created Yo! MTV Raps, and worked on the films Beautiful Girls, Life and Blow.

Actor Kirk Douglas brought his formidable chin and talent to movies like Spartacus and The Bad and the Beautiful. You may also know him as the father of Michael Douglas.

Filipino actor and politician Joseph Estrada served as the 13th president of the Philippines from 1998 to 2001.

Silent movie star Douglas Fairbanks Sr. (1883–39) teamed up with Charlie Chaplin, D.W. Griffith and his wife Mary Pickford to launch United Artists in 1919.

Jon Favreau is a Hollywood actor, screenwriter, director and producer known for film projects like Swingers, Elf and Iron Man.

Dodi Fayed was an Egyptian heir and film producer who dated and was dled with Princess Diana of Wales in a Paris car crash.

Jodie Foster is an award-winning American actress best known for her roles in the films Taxi Driver, The Accused and The Silence of the Lambs.

Lyricist and movie producer Arthur Freed brought us Singin' in the Rain (1952), An American in Paris (1952) and Gigi (1958).

Respected actor Morgan Freeman has appeared in such films as Driving Miss Daisy, The Shawshank Redemption, Million Dollar Baby, Unforgiven and Batman Begins.

John Gielgud was a prolific Shakespearean actor known for his varied film and TV work as well, including Arthur and Prospero’s Books.

Jean-Luc Godard is a French-Swiss film director and critic who was a leader of the French New Wave in film during the 1950s-60s.

Samuel Goldwyn was a Hollywood film producer who laid the groundwork for the Paramount and MGM movie studios.

Seth Grahame-Smith is author of the best-selling novels Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter and screenwriter for Dark Shadows.

An early 20th century filmmaking pioneer and one of the first to make a narrative fiction film, Alice Guy-Blaché made more than 1,000 films and ran her own film studio in New Jersey, experimenting with sound syncing, color tinting, interracial casting and special effects.

Laird Hamilton is an athlete, surfer, model and television host. He is one of today’s best known big wave surfers.

Academy Award-winning filmmaker Howard Hawks directed Only Angels Have Wings, Sergeant York, Scarface, Bringing Up Baby and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.

Director George Roy Hill produced some of the most popular films of the 1960s and 1970s, including Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

Writer and actor Jonah Hill starred in the teen hit Superbad. In 2011, he received an Oscar nomination for his performance in Moneyball.

Filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock was nicknamed the "Master of Suspense" for employing a kind of psychological suspense in his films, producing a distinct viewer experience.

Ron Howard is best known for his roles on the shows Happy Days and The Andy Griffith Show, and as the director for films, including A Beautiful Mind and Apollo 13.

C. Thomas Howell is best known for his acting roles in hit 1980s films E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (directed by Steven Spielberg), The Outsiders (1983) and The Hitcher (1986).

Film director and screenwriter John Hughes directed a string of hit teen films, including Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club and Pretty in Pink.

Michael Imperioli is an actor, writer and producer best known for his Emmy-winning performance on The Sopranos.

Australian actor and producer Hugh Jackman is best known for playing Wolverine in the X-Men series. He's also known for parts in the films The Prestige, Australia and Les Miserables.

The younger sister of Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson is one of the best-selling artists in contemporary history. Her albums include Control and Rhythym Nation.

New Zealand native Peter Jackson is best known as a director for his adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy, which has won 11 Oscars.

Spike Jonze is best known for his films Being John Malkovich, Adaptation and Where the Wild Things Are. He produced MTV's Jackass.

Harvey Keitel is best known for his work with director Martin Scorsese in the films Mean Streets and Taxi Driver.

Stanley Kubrick was an American filmmaker best known for directing Dr. Strangelove, Clockwork Orange, 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Shining and Full Metal Jacket.

Ashton Kutcher's first acting gig, playing Kelso on That '70s Show, led him to roles in films like Guess Who, A Lot Like Love, The Guardian, No Strings Attached and Jobs. The actor, model and producer married Demi Moore in 2005.

David Lean was a British director and screenwriter best known for his spectacular cinematography and adaptations of Charles Dickens classics, including Great Expectations (1946) and Oliver Twist (1948).

Producer, director, writer and actor Spike Lee creates controversial films that explore race relations, political issues and urban crime and violence. His films include She's Gotta Have It and Do the Right Thing.

Stan Lee is a revered comic-book creator who co-launched superheroes like the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, Doctor Strange and the X-Men for Marvel Comics.

Director Sidney Lumet was best known for his films Twelve Angry Men and Serpico. He made more than 40 films during his career.

Former teen heartthrob beloved for his role in The Karate Kid, actor Ralph Macchio has appeared in movies, theater and on television. He is also a producer.      

Seth MacFarlane is best known for writing, animating and producing the hit TV show Family Guy.

American producer, director and screenwriter Joseph L. Mankiewicz was known for creating memorable characters. He worked with many major Hollywood stars.

Michael Mann in an Emmy Award-winning film director, producer and screenwriter best known for producing the 1980s crime series, Miami Vice.

Garry Marshall produced some of the most popular television shows in the 1970s, including The Odd Couple and Mork and Mindy. He also directed Pretty Woman.

Penny Marshall became a successful film director after starring in the sitcom Laverne and Shirley. Her works include Big and Riding in Cars With Boys.

Comedian and comedy writer Steve Martin found fame starring in such films as The Jerk, Little Shop of Horrors, and Father of the Bride.

Louis B. Mayer was a film mogul and the most influential person in Hollywood from the mid-1920s to the late-1940s.

Actress Melissa McCarthy starred as Sookie in the show Gilmore Girls. In 2011, she received an Oscar nomination for best supporting actress in the film Bridesmaids.

Scottish actor Ewan McGregor first received worldwide acclaim with his role in Trainspotting, and has since played Obi-Wan in the Star Wars prequel trilogy.

English stage and film director Sam Mendes won an Oscar for American Beauty, and went on to direct films like Jarhead, Revolutionary Road and Skyfall.

John Mills was an award-winning actor, dancer and producer whose career spanned eight decades with works like Great Expectations and Ryan’s Daughter.

With her husky voice and beauty, Demi Moore was a fixture in 'Brat Pack' movies of the 1980s, such as St. Elmo's Fire and About Last Night.

Roger Moore is a British actor best known for his role as James Bond in seven films from 1973-'85.

Ryan Murphy is the creator of the popular American television programs Nip/Tuck, Glee, American Horror Story and The New Normal.

British playwright John Osborne's Look Back in Anger ushered in a new movement in British drama and made him known as the first of the "Angry Young Men."

Sarah Jessica Parker is an award-winning TV and film actress whose starring role in the series Sex and the City catapulted her to stardom.

Brilliant, brash and a little wacky, J. Stephen Peace co-produced the cult horror film Attack of the Killer Tomatoes and, as a state legislator, oversaw energy deregulation in California.

Academy Award-winning actor Sean Penn starred in Fast Times at Ridgemont High, married Madonna, and directed Jack Nicholson in two films.

Actress, musician and activist Pauley Perette is best known as the lab technician on the crime drama NCIS.

Mary Pickford was a legendary silent film actress and was known as "America’s sweetheart." She was a founder of United Artists and helped establish the Academy.

Sydney Pollack is an Oscar-winning film director, producer and actor. His director credits include Tootsie and Three Days of the Condor.

Sam Raimi has directed some of Hollywood's scariest movies and biggest blockbusters, such as Evil Dead 2 and Spider-man.