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Albert S. Ruddy, who won two Best Picture Academy Awards for his production The Godfather And Million dollar baby and co-created television shows including Walker, Texas Ranger And Hogan’s heroes, died May 25 at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center after a brief illness, a family spokesperson said. He was 94 years old.
Ruddy is one of nine producers to have won at least two Academy Awards for Best Picture, and has the distinction of winning them with the longest interval between the two: 32 years.
He was recently portrayed by Miles Teller in the Paramount+ miniseries. The offer, which chronicles Ruddy’s experience making the 1972 film that Coppola directed and adapted with Mario Puzo from the latter’s best-selling novel.
“Al was truly one of Hollywood’s great mavericks.” The offer » said director Dexter Fletcher in a statement. “One of the last Mohicans to create great films that still influence and inspire today. From humble beginnings to Hollywood’s highest accolades. It was an incredible journey. Made through the power of his determination, strong will, irrepressible energy and charm, and a rarely equaled love for the art of cinema.
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Teller said in a statement: “It was an honor and privilege to represent Al in The offer. Al lived a life that most could only dream of and that all would envy.
Before his big screen success, Ruddy co-created with Bernie Fein Hogan’s heroes, the decidedly iconoclastic sitcom about the lives of Allied prisoners in a Nazi prisoner of war camp. Starring Bob Crane and a memorable supporting cast, it ran for six seasons and remained popular in syndication. Ruddy had developed a Hogan’s Heroes sequel series just before the Covid pandemic.
Ruddy’s first feature film, Wild seed, was directed by his lifelong friend Brian G. Hutton. He then produced Little Fauss and Big Halsyfor which he showed up unexpectedly on the set of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and convinced rising star Robert Redford to play the lead role in his film.
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All of this led to his next project – one that would change and define his career: The Godfather.
As the sole producer of The Godfather, Ruddy won the Academy Award for Best Picture at the 45th Academy Awards. Clint Eastwood presented him with the award. 32 years later, Ruddy and Eastwood together won Best Picture for the production Million dollar babya film that also won acting Oscars for Hilary Swank and Morgan Freeman as well as a directing nod for Eastwood.
Ruddy’s last big screen producing credit was Eastwood’s 2021 drama western Macho shouts.
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“He was a great friend of mine and I will miss him dearly,” Eastwood said in a statement Tuesday.
The Godfather was the sprawling epic story of the Corleone crime family in New York. It starred Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, Robert Duvall, James Caan, Talia Shire, Diane Keaton and others and led into the 1974 sequel. The Godfather, Part II. They remain the only film and sequel to win the Academy Awards for Best Picture.
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Al Pacino said: “Al Ruddy has been absolutely magnificent to me the entire time. The Godfather; even when they didn’t want me, he wanted me. He offered me encouragement when I needed it most and I will never forget it.
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Deadline’s Peter Bart, who worked at Paramount Pictures for The Godfather era, said: “Al Ruddy has a contagious love for storytelling and cinema and brought a lot of energy and good humor to his productions. Ruddy and his friend Clint Eastwood were a great team who created great stories and memorable films.
Ruddy enjoyed a close personal and professional friendship with Burt Reynolds, with whom he made the Golden Globe-winning film for Best Comedy. The longest yard, as well as The cannonball race films, the latter of which were directed by his friend Hal Needham. Reynolds died in 2018.
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Other films that Ruddy wrote, co-wrote, or had story credits for include Mathilde (1978), Megaforce (1982), Cannonball Race II (1984), bad girls (1994) — also producer on these four — Adam Sandler’s Longest yard redo (2005) and Cloud 9 (2006). He was also a producer of films such as Lassiter (1984), Farewell to the king (1989) Speed zone (1989, in EP), Impulse (1990), Ladybugs (1992), The scout (1994), Average machine (2001), Georgetown (2002) and Sabotage (2014).
His television credits include nearly 200 episodes of Walker, Texas Ranger, with Chuck Norris, broadcast from 1993 to 2001 on CBS. The CW just ended Walker, starring Jared Padalecki, was based on the character from the previous series.
Ruddy was born March 28, 1930 in Montreal and grew up in New York. As a young man, he excelled at swimming and nearly made the Olympic swim team for the butterfly, his family said.
After attending Brooklyn Technical High School, one of New York City’s most renowned schools for the gifted, he enrolled at the City College of New York and soon transferred to the USC School of Architecture . During this cross-country move, Los Angeles would become Ruddy’s home for the rest of his life.
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Before his successful career as a writer and producer, Ruddy worked as a programmer at the renowned technology think tank Rand Corporation in Santa Monica.
Among his other career honors are two French Césars, two Italian David di Donatello Awards and the USC Scripter Award. He received the Shanghai Film Festival Lifetime Achievement Award and served as jury president of the Zurich Film Festival in 2007.
Ruddy was married for 43 years to his beloved wife, Wanda McDaniel, a journalist turned fashion executive at Giorgio Armani, who is recognized as the pioneer of the modern red carpet. Starting with The offerRuddy began a collaboration with his beloved daughter and producing partner Alexandra Ruddy, who is the director of Albert S. Ruddy Productions in addition to writing and acting.
Along with his wife, Al Ruddy is survived by his son, John; daughter, Alexandra; and his son-in-law Abdullah Saeed, screenwriter.
Among his final words: “The game is over, but we won the game. »
Respecting Ruddy’s wishes, no public funeral service will take place. Memorial services are underway.
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