Richard D. Zanuck

American producer and production executive Richard D. Zanuck, the son of illustrious production executive Darryl F. Zanuck, began his career in the story department of 20th Century Fox while still in college. Later he became the vice president of Darryl F. Zanuck Productions, in charge of the company's U.S. productions when his father became an independent producer and moved his operations in Paris. When his father again took over the helm at Fox, young Zanuck was made vice president in charge of all productions. He gained complete control in 1969, but during a heated proxy battle was forcibly removed from the presidency. Between 1971 and 1972, he served as the company's senior executive vice president but subsequently quit to co-found a company with David Brown. Among the Zanuck-Brown company's top-grossing films are The Sting (1973), Jaws (1975), Cocoon (1985), Driving Miss Daisy (1989), and Deep Impact (1998). Together, Zanuck and Brown have earned a number of accolades over their long careers, including the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Irving G. Thalberg Award in 1991, and the David O. Selznick Lifetime Achievement Award from the Producers Guild of America in 1995.

~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide