Biography
Howard Gottfried (1923–2017) was an American film producer. He began his career as a lawyer in New York before producing off-Broadway theatre and working in television at United Artists and Ed Sullivan Productions. He served in the US Army during the Second World War and graduated from the City College of New York and New York University School of Law.
Gottfried produced The Hospital (1971), Network (1976), Altered States (1980), Torch Song Trilogy (1988) and Suburban Commando (1991). He also served as executive producer on Body Double (1984). He collaborated repeatedly with screenwriter Paddy Chayefsky, whom he first met in a New York card game. Gottfried received an Academy Award nomination for best picture for Network and was awarded the Producers Guild of America Hall of Fame Award for the film in 2002. The character Howard Beale in Network was named after him.
