Awards presented March 24, 1949
Jerry Wald.
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| Wald, center, holding his Thalberg Award, is flanked by Douglas Fairbanks Jr., who accepted the best actor Oscar for Laurence Olivier, best supporting actress Claire Trevor, best actress Jane Wyman, and best supporting actor John Huston. Trevor and Wyman both won their Oscars for films produced by Wald, Key Largo and Johnny Belinda. |
While studying journalism at New York University, Wald covered radio for the New York Evening Graphic, then moved into writing for radio programs and as a publicist for radio stars. In 1934 he became a writer at Warner Bros., then moved into producing in 1941. The Thalberg Award, which came rather early in his career, recognized his success with such Warner Bros. films as
Mildred Pierce,
Key Largo and
Johnny Belinda. Wald remained at Warners until 1950, when he formed a production company with Norman Krasna and Howard Hughes. Working with the eccentric Hughes proved difficult, however, and in 1953 he accepted a deal as vice president in charge of production at Columbia under Harry Cohn. In 1956 he formed his own company, with a release agreement through 20th Century-Fox. As producer, he received two Oscar nominations, for
Peyton Place and
Sons and Lovers. He also produced the Academy Awards television shows in 1958 and 1959. He died of a heart attack in 1962, at the age of fifty.
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