Charles W. Fries(1928-2021)

A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, Chuck Fries graduated from Ohio State University, where he also received an Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree. After serving in various production and administrative capacities in the entertainment industry, he became vice-president in charge of production for Screen Gems, the Columbia Pictures Television arm and subsequently became Vice President in charge of feature film produotion/administration for the parent company where he worked with the top producers and directors in the industry. As executive vice president in charge of production for Metromedia Producers Corporation, Fries assumed the production reins and produced and/or supervised some thirty movies for television, nine television series, and five theatrical films. Though in 1974, he founded Alpine Productions. He eventually later become Charles Fries Productions in the November of the year. Fries is considered the "godfather" of the television movie. Known for producing many issue-oriented movies for television, Fries programs include: "Small Sacrifices" starring Farrah Fawcett and Ryan O'Neal, "The Neon Empire", a three-hour epic saga starring Ray Sharkey, Martin Landau and Gary Busey; "Leona Helmsley: The Queen of Mean", starring Suzanne Pleshette and Lloyd Bridges; "The Martian Chronicles" by Ray Bradbury starring Rock Hudson, and "Woman on the Ledge" with Deidre Hall and "Deadly Web" with Gigi Rice and Ed Marinaro. Theatrical motion pictures produced under the Fries banner include Paul Schraeder's The Cat People, a Universal release starring Natassja Kinski, and Malcolm McDowell; Out of Bounds, a Fries production starring Anthony Michael Hall, released by Columbia Pictures; Thrashin' distributed by New Line Cinema Corporation: Flowers in the Attic, a highly successful co-production with New World; and Troop Beverly Hills, starring Sheliy Long and Craig T. Nelson for Weintraub Entertainment- His most recent production, Screamers is a major Sci-Fi film starring Peter Weller. Fries has been and continues to be integrally involved in the entertainment industry at large. At the American Film Institute he is a member of its Board of Trustees and Executive Committee. He established the Charles W. Fries Producer of the Year Award at the institute to encourage quality television programming. Recipients of the award are Dan Curtis, Edgar J. Scherick, Roger Gimbel, Suzanne de Passe and Stan Margulies. The Ava and Charles Fries Foundation also established the Charles W Fries Library at the AFI in Los Angeles. The library is intended to be a collection of groundbreaking, historically significant material and will include scripts. production records and video copies of each film. Fries is currently a member of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, where he serves as Secretary of the Foundation; the Academy Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and he is a member of the Board Of Directors of the Producer's Guild of America. He is also active at the Center Theatre Group through an association with a constituent group, Center Theate Group Affiliates. Fries is a former Chairman, having served for five terms, and presently on sabbatical from the Steering Committee of the Caucus of Producers, Writers and Directors, and his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is directly opposite Mann's Chinese Theater.