Albert R. Broccoli | |
|---|---|
 Broccoli in 1976 | |
| Born | Albert Romolo Broccoli (1909-04-05)April 5, 1909 New York City, U.S. |
| Died | June 27, 1996(1996-06-27) (aged 87) |
| Resting place | Forest Lawn Memorial Park,Hollywood Hills |
| Other names | Cubby Broccoli |
| Occupation | Film producer |
| Years active | 1953–1996 |
| Notable work | James Bond film series |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 3, includingBarbara |
| Relatives |
|
Albert Romolo Broccoli (/ˈbrɒkəli/BROK-əl-ee;[1] April 5, 1909 – June 27, 1996), nicknamed "Cubby", was an American film producer who made more than 40 motion pictures throughout his career.[2] Most of the films were made in the United Kingdom and often filmed atPinewood Studios. Co-founder ofDanjaq, LLC andEon Productions, Broccoli is most notable as the producer of many of theJames Bond films. He andHarry Saltzman saw the films develop from relatively low-budget origins to large-budget, high-grossing extravaganzas. Broccoli's heirsBarbara Broccoli andMichael G. Wilson continued to produce new Bond films until 2021.
Broccoli was born in the borough ofQueens,New York City, the younger of two children of immigrants from theCalabria region of Italy, Giovanni Broccoli and Kristina Vence.[3] He had an older brother.[4] Broccoli acquired his nickname after his cousin, film producerPat DiCicco, began calling him "Kabibble", after asimilarly named cartoon character. This was eventually shortened to "Kubbie" and adopted by Broccoli as "Cubby".[3] The family later bought a farm inSmithtown,New York, onLong Island,[5] near their relatives the DiCiccos.[6]
The family moved toFlorida; on the death of his father Giovanni, Broccoli moved to live with his grandmother inAstoria,Queens, inNew York City. Having worked many jobs, includingcasket maker, Broccoli then became involved in the film industry. He started at the bottom, working as a gofer onHoward Hughes'The Outlaw (1941), which starredJane Russell. Here he met his lifelong friendHoward Hughes for the first time, while Hughes was overseeing the movie's production after directorHoward Hawks was fired. Broccoli rose quickly to the level of assistant director by the time the U.S. entered World War II.[citation needed]
He served in the US Navy during World War II from 1942 to 1947[7][8] where he metRay Stark.
In 1951, he andIrving Allen createdWarwick Films in order to take advantage of tax incentives available to them by producing films in theUnited Kingdom with British crews, while often using American stars. Among the films they produced areThe Red Beret (1953),Hell Below Zero (1954),The Black Knight (1954),The Gamma People (1956),Safari (1956),Fire Down Below (1957), andThe Trials of Oscar Wilde (1960), among others. The Allen–Broccoli partnership ended in part due to a disagreement over acquiring film rights to theJames Bond novels as Allen felt they were of poor quality.[9] Broccoli partnered instead withHarry Saltzman in 1961 to formEon Productions, which would produce theBond series.[10] (SeeProduction of the James Bond films)
Broccoli is alleged to have been involved in an altercation with comedian andThree Stooges creatorTed Healy outside theTrocadero nightclub, just before the latter's death in 1937. A source alleged that actorWallace Beery, Broccoli, and film producerPat DiCicco beat Healy so badly that he fell into a coma and died.[11] There is no documentation in contemporaneous news reports that either Beery or DiCicco was present, allegedly because the investigation and any subsequent newspaper coverage would be routinely sidelined by theMGM studiofixers,Eddie Mannix andHoward Strickling (Mannix would later become a producer and executive for MGM), since Wallace Beery was one of MGM's most highly-paid and important actors. Beery was immediately dispatched to a long vacation in Europe until the story died down.[11] Broccoli admitted that he was indeed involved in a fist fight with Healy at the Trocadero.[12] He later modified his story, stating that a heavily intoxicated Healy had picked a fight with him, the two had briefly scuffled, then shook hands and parted ways.[13] In other reports, Broccoli admitted to pushing Healy, but not striking him.[14]
There is disagreement over whether Healy died as a result of the brawl or due to his well-known alcoholism.[15] Because of the authorities' lack of interest in investigating Healy's death, an autopsy was not performed until after Healy's body had been embalmed, rendering the examiner's note that Healy's organs were "soaked in alcohol" useless in determining a cause of death.[15]
Following the autopsy, the Los Angeles county coroner reported that Healy died of acute toxicnephritis secondary to acute and chronicalcoholism. Police closed their investigation, as there was no indication in the report that his death was caused by physical assault.[14]
Broccoli married three times. In 1940, at the age of 31, he married actressGloria Blondell, the younger sister ofJoan Blondell. They later divorced amicably in 1945[16] without having had children. In 1951, he married Nedra Clark, widow of the singerBuddy Clark. They adopted a son, Tony Broccoli, after which Nedra became pregnant. She died in 1958, soon after giving birth to their daughter, Tina.
In 1959, Broccoli married actress and novelistDana Natol. They had a daughter,Barbara Broccoli, and Natol adopted his other two children. Albert Broccoli became a mentor to Dana's teenage son,Michael G. Wilson. The children grew up around the Bond film sets, and his wife's influence on various production decisions is alluded to in many informal accounts.[17]
In 1966, Broccoli was in Japan with other producers scouting locations to film the next James Bond filmYou Only Live Twice. He had a ticket booked onBOAC Flight 911 and cancelled his ticket on that day so he could see a ninja demonstration. Flight 911 crashed due toclear-air turbulence, killing everyone on board.[18][19]
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Broccoli died at his home inBeverly Hills, California in 1996 at the age of 87 ofheart failure, having undergone a triplecoronary artery bypass surgery earlier that year. He was interred in an ornate sarcophagus in the outdoor Courts of Remembrance section, atForest Lawn – Hollywood Hills Cemetery inLos Angeles following a funeral mass at The Church of the Good Shepherd, Beverly Hills. Former Bond actorTimothy Dalton was among the pallbearers.[22]
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