B. F. Zeidman (October 4, 1896 – August 7, 1970) was a Hollywood producer whose long film career began while he was still in his teens during the era of silent film.
| B. F. Zeidman | |
|---|---|
The Moving Picture World, (July 29, 1916) |
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| Born | Benjamin F. Zeidman October 4, 1896 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died | August 7, 1970 (aged 73) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Other names | Bennie Zeidman |
| Occupation | Hollywood Publicist and Film Producer |
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He was born Benjamin “Bennie” Zeidman at Philadelphia, the middle of five children raised by Joseph and Clara Zeidman. Bennie’s birth-mother most likely died sometime around the turn of the century leaving his father to wed Clara about 1902. His father was Russian, as were his mother and step-mother, and supported his family as an owner of a Philadelphia area butcher shop. [1][2]
As early as 1914 Bennie was working as script editor for Echo Studios in New York and the following year as a publicist for Lubin Studios. Over the next several years he would work in a similar capacity for D. W. Griffith, Fine Arts Films, Yorke-Metro Studios and Douglas Fairbanks. [3][4] In 1922 Bennie produced the film “Where's My Wandering Boy Tonight?”, and would go on to produce or co-produce some twenty-six films over the following twenty-two years including Prison Train , Grand Central Murder and the 1936 documentary, “Beneath the Seas". His last two productions were the Laurel and Hardy films Air Raid Wardens and Nothing But Trouble. [5]
At 101 pounds and just under five feet, Zeidman was once described as the "smallest press agent in captivity". [6]
Bennie Zeidman passed away in 1970 at the age of 73 in Los Angeles. [7][8]