David V. Picker

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title: "David V. Picker" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1931-births", "2019-deaths", "businesspeople-from-new-york-city", "american-film-studio-executives", "paramount-pictures-executives", "20th-century-american-jews", "american-chief-operating-officers", "american-memoirists", "20th-century-american-businesspeople", "21st-century-american-jews", "presidents-of-columbia-pictures"] description: "American film executive and producer (1931–2019)" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_V._Picker" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American film executive and producer (1931–2019) ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox person"]

Field	Value
name	David V. Picker
image	David V. Picker.jpg
birth_name	David Victor Picker
birth_date
birth_place	New York City, U.S.
death_date
death_place	New York City, U.S.
known_for	Served as President and CEO of United Artists, Paramount, Lorimar, and Columbia Pictures
occupation	Movie executive and producer
family	{{ubl
::

| name = David V. Picker | image = David V. Picker.jpg | birth_name = David Victor Picker | birth_date = | birth_place = New York City, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = New York City, U.S. | known_for = Served as President and CEO of United Artists, Paramount, Lorimar, and Columbia Pictures | occupation = Movie executive and producer | family = {{ubl | Arnold Picker (uncle) | Tobias Picker (nephew)

David Victor Picker (May 14, 1931 – April 20, 2019) was an American motion picture executive and producer, working in the film industry for more than forty years. He served as president and chief executive officer for United Artists, Paramount, Lorimar, and Columbia Pictures before becoming an independent producer. Picker was a member of the Writers Guild of America East, a member the Producers Guild of America, and he was Chairman Emeritus of the Producers Guild of America East. Picker's memoir about his career in the film industry, Musts, Maybes and Nevers, was released in 2013.

Early life

Picker was born to a Jewish family on May 14, 1931, in New York City. He was the son of Sylvia (Moses) and Eugene Picker, a one-time president of Loews Theatres and president of the National Association of Theatre Owners, executive of Trans-Lux and vice-president of United Artists.

Film career

1950s–1969

Picker began his movie career at United Artists in 1956, working in advertising and publicity. By 1961 he was an assistant to Arthur Krim, the president. In 1964, Picker accepted the award on behalf of Tony Richardson, who was not in attendance. By the late 1960s, Picker was managing United Artists Records.

1969–1973: United Artists Corporation

Picker became chief operating officer and president of United Artists Corporation in 1969. Having earlier brought the Beatles' A Hard Day's Night and Help! to the company, Picker was also responsible for a deal with producers Harry Saltzman and Albert Broccoli for the James Bond series which launched one of the most successful franchises in cinema history. Other notable releases during his time as president of United Artists included Midnight Cowboy and Last Tango in Paris. Picker also established the company's lasting relationship with writer and director Woody Allen, in addition to European filmmakers Federico Fellini, Ingmar Bergman, François Truffaut, Louis Malle, and Sergio Leone. He became CEO and president of UA on January 1, 1973.

1973–1993

In 1973, Picker left United Artists to form his own production company, Two Roads Productions, producing Juggernaut and Lenny in 1974 and Smile and Royal Flash in 1975. Lenny was a critical success, nominated for six Academy Awards. However, his next picture, Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood, became a notorious flop.

In 1976, Picker became President of Motion Pictures at Paramount, but served for only a few years, during which he helped develop or greenlight Saturday Night Fever, Grease, and the 1980 Academy Award winner, Ordinary People. Upon leaving Paramount in 1979, Picker partnered with comedian Steve Martin to produce that year's The Jerk, Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid in 1982, and The Man with Two Brains in 1983. In the mid-1980s, Picker took over as President of Feature Films at Lorimar Productions, developing and supervising the films S.O.B., Being There, and Escape to Victory. In 1984, he worked with Harry Belafonte to produce Beat Street Hired in 1985 by Columbia Pictures to serve as president of production, Picker greenlit Hope and Glory, School Daze, Vice Versa, Punchline, and True Believer. In 1987, Picker left Columbia after Chairman & CEO David Puttnam exited the company and Dawn Steel joined it. He revived Two Roads Productions with a non-exclusive production agreement with Columbia. His next film, a remake of Stella Dallas called Stella, starred Bette Midler.

1993 to 2000s

Picker produced The Saint of Fort Washington for Warner Bros. in 1993, and The Crucible for Twentieth Century Fox in 1996. In 1997, Picker became president of Hallmark Entertainment Productions Worldwide to oversee the company's objective of expanding into feature films. In that capacity, he became Executive Producer on a host of TV movies and miniseries, including Journey to the Center of the Earth, David Copperfield, and Hans Christian Andersen: My Life as a Fairytale.

From 2004 to 2008, Picker served as chairman of The Producers Guild of America for the East. Picker's memoir about his career in the film industry, Musts, Maybes and Nevers, was released in 2013.

Personal life and death

Picker was married three times. In 1954, he married Caryl Schlossman, with whom he had two daughters, Caryn and Pam. In 1975, he married casting director Nessa Hyams; he produced and she directed the feature film Leader of the Band in 1987. In 1995 Picker married photographer Sandra Jetton, who survived him. They lived in New York City.

Picker's sister is Jean Picker Firstenberg, past CEO and Director of the American Film Institute. His uncle, Arnold Picker, was also an executive vice-president at United Artists.

On April 20, 2019, Picker died in New York City from colon cancer at the age of 87. He was survived by his wife, Sandra, his two daughters and his sister.

Selected filmography

He was a producer in all films unless otherwise noted.

Film

::data[format=table]

Year	Film	Credit	Notes
1974	Juggernaut	Executive producer
Lenny	Executive producer
1975	Smile	Executive producer
Royal Flash
1976	Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood
1978	The One and Only
Oliver's Story
1979	Bloodline
The Jerk
1982	Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid
1983	The Man with Two Brains
1984	Beat Street
The Goodbye People
1987	Leader of the Band
1990	Stella	Executive producer
1991	Livin' Large!
1992	Traces of Red
Leap of Faith
1993	The Saint of Fort Washington
1996	The Crucible		Final film as a producer
::

;Miscellaneous crew

::data[format=table]

Year	Film	Role
1974	Juggernaut	Presenter
1975	Smile
::

;Thanks

::data[format=table]

Year	Film	Role
1975	Lisztomania	Very special thanks
1980	Rascal Dazzle	Special thanks
::

Television

::data[format=table]

Year	Title	Credit	Notes
1998	The Temptations	Executive producer	Television film
Rear Window	Executive producer	Television film
1999	P. T. Barnum	Executive producer	Television film
Journey to the Center of the Earth	Executive producer
Aftershock: Earthquake in New York	Executive producer	Television film
2000	Back to the Secret Garden	Executive producer	Television film
In the Beginning	Executive producer	Television film
David Copperfield	Executive producer	Television film
2002	Fidel	Executive producer	Television film
2003	Hans Christian Andersen: My Life as a Fairytale	Executive producer	Television film
::

;Miscellaneous crew

::data[format=table]

Year	Title	Role
1996	Arliss	Consultant
::

References

References

1. "David V. Picker". Pproducedbyconference.com.
2. Bart, Peter. "Greenlighting Movies: A High-Risk Game".
3. National Center for Jewish Film. "National Center for Jewish Film - Board of Directors". National Center for Jewish Film.
4. "Warburg and Lehman Give to Education Ass'n Fund". Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
5. Erens, Patricia. (1998). "[[The Jew in American Cinema]]". [[Indiana University Press]].
6. "DAVID PICKER SIGNS PRODUCING DEAL WITH PARAMOUNT". TheFreeLibrary.
7. Sullivan, Ronald. (19 October 1993). "Eugene Picker, 89; Originated Strategy For Releasing Films". The New York Times.
8. (24 April 2019). "Who's who in the West". Marquis Who's Who, Incorporated.
9. "Filmography". AllMovie.
10. "ABOUT DAVID V. PICKER". YahooMovies.
11. "BIOGRAPHY". TCM.
12. "Biography for David V. Picker". IMDb.
13. "Guests: David V. Picker". Charlie Rose.
14. (December 6, 1972). "Picker's Exex at UA; Pleskow Top; Senior Veepcy Velde, Chaseman, Goldberg, Bernstein, And Bos".
15. "Lenny (1974)". IMDb.
16. Orlean, Susan. (2012). "Rin Tin Tin: The Life and the Legend". Simon & Schuster.
17. "Beat Street (1984)". IMDb.
18. "Produced By Conference". Produced By Conference.
19. "David V. Picker". IMDb.
20. (1987-11-04). "Dawn Steel Named Colpix Prexy; Roger Faxon Second In Command". [[Variety (magazine).
21. "David V. PickerFilmography". Fandango.
22. "David V. Picker".
23. "Nessa Hyams".
24. Genzlinger, Neil. (April 23, 2019). "David V. Picker, Film Executive Behind Many Hits, Dies at 87".
25. (23 April 2019). "Man who brought Beatles to the big screen dies". BBC News.
26. Feinberg, Scott. (April 21, 2019). "David Picker, Studio Chief Who Brought Bond, The Beatles and Steve Martin to the Movies, Dies at 87".

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