Alexander Salkind

MAIN

Recommend (0)

•

Comments (0)

BIRTHDAY

May 02, 1921

Danzig, Poland

DIED

March 08, 1997

RECENT CREDITS

The Trial (FILM) Jun. 23, 2000

Santa Claus: The Movie (FILM) Nov. 27, 1985

Supergirl (FILM) Nov. 21, 1984

Superman II (FILM) Jun. 19, 1981

Superman: The Movie (FILM) Dec. 15, 1978

View all Alexander Salkind Credits

BIOGRAPHY

Expand Full Bio

Producer Alexander Salkind was born in Leningrad, but raised in Berlin, the son of film producer Mikhail Salkind. When his father moved to Cuba to produce films, Salkind accompanied him, and after his father purchased the distribution rights to a series of Mexico-produced Cantinflas comedies, moved with him to Mexico City where the younger Salkind would meet Berta Dominguez D., a poet and writer who would be his wife for over 50 years. Their son, Ilya Salkind, would become a film producer at age 23. Salkind started out producing independent films and went on to produce many big-budget international films including Richard Lester's The Three Musketeers (1974) and Superman (1978). He played a key role in making the Cannes Film Festival an important locale for independent filmmakers searching for distribution funds and backing for future projects. Later his son, Ilya, took over production duties on the Superman series. The Salkinds found themselves facing a series of lawsuits in 1974 when they took unused extra footage from Richard Lester's The Three Musketeers and created a sequel, The Four Musketeers. The cast and crew were irate because they were only paid for doing one film! The result of the court battles was the "Salkind Clause," a part of a guild contract that specifies that a performer's services may be used for "one film only." Toward the end of his life, Salkind was designated a Commander of the Arts and Letters by the French government. Terrified of flying, Salkind never came to Hollywood and spent his life in Paris and Switzerland. He died of leukemia at the age of 76.

~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Collapse Full Bio