Jennings Lang

Jennings Lang
Born (1915-05-28)May 28, 1915
New York City, New York, U.S.
Died May 29, 1996(1996-05-29) (aged 81)
Palm Desert, California, U.S.
Occupation Film producer, screenwriter actor
Spouse(s) Monica Lewis (m. 1956-1996; his death); 3 sons

Jennings Lang (May 28, 1915, New York City – May 29, 1996, Palm Desert, California) was an American film producer,[1] as well as a screenwriter and actor.

Biography

Lang was born to a Jewish family[2] in New York City, New York. Originally a lawyer, from New York City, he came to Hollywood in 1938 and set up an office as a talent agent. In 1940 he joined the Jaffe agency and within a few years became the company's president, and came to be known as one of Hollywood's leading agents.

In 1950 he joined the MCA talent agency and two years later became vice president of MCA TV Limited; in this capacity, he worked with MCA's subsidiary Revue Productions involved in developing, creating, and selling new series in the 1950s and '60s, such as Wagon Train, The Bob Cummings Show, and McHale's Navy.

In 1951, Lang was shot in the left inner thigh and groin by film producer Walter Wanger,[3] who believed Lang was having an affair with his wife, actress Joan Bennett. The following is extracted from the book On Sunset Boulevard (1998, p. 431) by Ed Sikov:

In 1951, producer Walter Wanger discovered that his wife, Joan Bennett, was having an affair with the agent Jennings Lang. Their encounters were brief and frequent. When Lang and Bennett weren't meeting clandestinely at vacation spots like New Orleans and the West Indies, they were back in L.A. enjoying weekday quickies at a Beverly Hills apartment otherwise occupied by one of Lang's underlings at the agency. When Wanger found proof of the affair, he did what any crazed cuckold would do: he shot Lang in the balls.

Lang survived, and Wanger, pleading insanity, served four months in prison. In 1956. Lang married actress-singer Monica Lewis and fathered three sons. The couple remained married until Lang's death in 1996. He produced and executive-produced movies from 1969 to 1986; in the mid-1970s, Lang produced a series of major epics, including Airport 1975 and Earthquake; the latter picture utilized Sensurround to augment the onscreen action with sound waves that sent tremors throughout the theater.[4]

Last years & death

A stroke in 1983 forced Lang's retirement. He died of pneumonia in 1996 in Palm Desert, California and was buried at Desert Memorial Park in Cathedral City. Lang was survived by his wife Monica Lewis and their three sons.[4]

Filmography

Producer

Presenter

Screenwriter

Actor

References

  1. 1 2 Maslin, Janet (April 26, 1985). "SCREEN: 'STICK,' WITH BURT REYNOLDS". The New York Times.
  2. ↑ Erens, Patricia The Jew in American Cinema ISBN 9780253204936 | ISBN 0253204933 | Publisher: Indiana University Press | Publish Date: August 1988 | p. 392
  3. ↑ Autobiography of Monica Lewis: "Hollywood Through My Eyes" (Brule,WI, Cable Publishing, 2011) p. 162
  4. 1 2 Jennings Lang on IMDb
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