Frank Price, a writer and Emmy-nominated producer who rose to chairman and CEO of Columbia Pictures before becoming head of Universal Television, died Monday. He was 95. His son, former Amazon Studios president Roy Price, said his father died in his sleep.
Born on May 17, 1930, in Decatur, IL, the elder Price was a TV writer-producer during the heyday of Westerns, including serving in producer roles for more 100 episodes of The Virginians and 75 of Pat Garrett-Billy the Kid series The Tall Man. He later was an executive producer on the hit dramas Ironside and It Takes a Thief, starring Raymond Burr and Robert Wagner, respectively.
He brought in a young Steven Bochco to pad out the first six episodes of Ironside before they aired on NBC. In an interview for The Television Academy Foundation, Bochco said he watched those and recalled that Price came into the room and asked what he thought about the show. “Smartass that I was, I said, ‘I can certainly do this, but I don’t know if you want to do it for all six of them because I don’t know if this show is gonna last that long.’ Frank gave me that sort of very frosty look. Anyway, I wound up doing that show, but I got off on the wrong foot there with Frank.”
In the late 1970s, Price pivoted to features, rising to president and later chairman and CEO of Columbia Pictures. While there, he demonstrated a remarkable eye for both commercial and artistic success, shepherding such hits as Tootsie, Ghostbusters and The Karate Kid and backing Best Picture Oscar winners, Gandhi, Out of Africa and Kramer vs. Kramer. He later greenlighted Boyz n the Hood, John Singleton’s searing look at inner-city Los Angeles that fueled the careers of its filmmaker and cast including Ice Cube, Morris Chestnut and Cuba Gooding Jr.
After moving to Universal Pictures, Price launched Steven Spielberg’s lucrative Back to the Future franchise. While head of Universal TV, Price scored an Emmy nom for the 1995 HBO TV movie The Tuskegee Airmen, which starred Boyz n the Hood alums Laurence Fishburne and Gooding.
Price also founded Price Entertainment, a production company that made such films as Shadowlands and A Bronx Tale.
His son said Price’s life was a masterpiece of its own — a story of vision, heart and connection that will continue to inspire for generations to come. The family remembers him as a warm, guiding presence whose love for storytelling was matched only by his love for them. Ray Price said his dad was particularly proud of his involvement with USC; he served as a trustee and created and chaired the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts Board of Councilors from 1992-2021.
Along with son Ray, Frank is survived by his wife, Katherine; his sons, David and William, who is married to Megan; and his 14 grandchildren.
The post Frank Price Dies: Former Head Of Columbia Pictures & Universal TV Was 95 appeared first on Deadline.
