Jump to content

Gale Anne Hurd

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Gale Ann Hurd)

Gale Anne Hurd
Hurd in 2016
Born (1955-10-25) October 25, 1955 (age 68)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
EducationStanford University (BA)
Occupation(s)Film and television producer
Years active1980–present
Spouses
(m. 1985; div. 1989)
(m. 1991; div. 1993)
(m. 1995)
Children1

Gale Anne Hurd (born October 25, 1955) is an American film and television producer, the founder of Valhalla Entertainment (formerly Pacific Western Productions)[1] and a former recording secretary for the Producers Guild of America.[2]

Early life

[edit]
Hurd with her Hollywood Walk of Fame star, 2012

Hurd was born in Los Angeles, the daughter of Lolita (née Espiau) and Frank E. Hurd, an investor.[3] Her father was Jewish, and her mother was Catholic.[4] She grew up in Palm Springs, California and graduated from Palm Springs High School in 1973.[5] She graduated from Stanford University with a BA in economics and communications, and a minor in political science, in 1977.[6]

Film career

[edit]

She joined New World Pictures as executive assistant to Roger Corman, the company president. She worked her way up through various administrative positions and eventually became involved in production.[7] She formed her own production company, Pacific Western Productions, in 1982 and went on to produce a number of box-office hits including the James Cameron films The Terminator (1984, the screenplay for which she co-wrote with Cameron, her sole screenwriting credit),[8] Aliens (1986), and The Abyss (1989).[9]

In 1989 she played a pivotal role in keeping the American Film Institute from honoring director Elia Kazan for his role 37 years earlier in naming communists when called before the House Un-American Activities Committee.[10][1]

Hurd with the cast of The Walking Dead in October 2012

In 1998, she was awarded the Women in Film Crystal Award for outstanding women who, through their endurance and the excellence of their work, have helped to expand the role of women within the entertainment industry.[11]

In 2003, she was awarded the Telluride Tech Festival Award of Technology at Telluride, Colorado, along with Arthur C. Clarke.[12]

In 2010, the drama series she produced, The Walking Dead, began airing on AMC.[13]

Hurd became a governor of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 2011.[14]

Hurd's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

On October 3, 2012, she was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.[15]

In 2013, Hurd was awarded the Laura Ziskin Lifetime Achievement Award from the Athena Film Festival, at Barnard College in New York City. The award honors her as a woman in the film industry whose leadership demonstrates vision and courage and sets a standard for other women to emulate.[16]

Hurd was awarded the Fangoria Lifetime Achievement Award in 2017 for her body of work in the horror and science fiction genres.[17]

Personal life

[edit]

Hurd was married to James Cameron from 1985 to 1989;[18] to director Brian De Palma from 1991 to 1993, with whom she had one daughter, Lolita de Palma, in 1991;[19][20] and to screenwriter/director Jonathan Hensleigh since 1995.[21]

Filmography

[edit]
The producing team behind Aliens, James Cameron and Hurd

Film

[edit]
Year Title Director(s) Notes
1981 Smokey Bites the Dust Charles B. Griffith Co-producer
1984 The Terminator James Cameron Also screenwriter
1986 Aliens
1988 Bad Dreams Andrew Fleming
Alien Nation Graham Baker
1989 The Abyss James Cameron
1990 Downtown Richard Benjamin Executive producer
Tremors Ron Underwood
1991 Terminator 2: Judgment Day James Cameron
1992 The Waterdance Neal Jimenez
Michael Steinberg
Raising Cain Brian De Palma
1994 No Escape Martin Campbell
Safe Passage Robert Allan Ackerman
1996 The Ghost and the Darkness Stephen Hopkins
1997 The Relic Peter Hyams
Dante's Peak Roger Donaldson
1998 Armageddon Michael Bay
1999 Virus John Bruno
Dick Andrew Fleming
2002 Clockstoppers Jonathan Frakes
2003 Hulk Ang Lee
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines Jonathan Mostow Executive producer
2004 The Punisher Jonathan Hensleigh
2005 Æon Flux Karyn Kusama
2007 Welcome to the Jungle Jonathan Hensleigh
2008 The Incredible Hulk Louis Leterrier
Punisher: War Zone Lexi Alexander
2013 Very Good Girls Naomi Foner
2018 Hell Fest Gregory Plotkin

Television

[edit]
Year Title Notes
1991 Cast a Deadly Spell TV movie
2002–2003 Adventure Inc.
2010–2022 The Walking Dead
2015–2023 Fear the Walking Dead
2016 Hunters
2017–2018 Lore
2020–2021 The Walking Dead: World Beyond
2022 Tales of the Walking Dead
2023–present The Walking Dead: Dead City
The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon
2024 The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Gale Anne Hurd". Valhalla Entertainment. Archived from the original on June 4, 2016. Retrieved June 12, 2008.
  2. ^ "Walking Dead Atlanta Recruitment Event". Producers Guild of America. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
  3. ^ "Gale Anne Hurd Biography (1955–)". Filmreference.com. Retrieved June 7, 2012.
  4. ^ Gale Anne Hurd Biography. November 2, 2010. Retrieved June 7, 2012. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
  5. ^ Fessier, Bruce (January 10, 2018). "'Walking Dead' producer returns home to present 'Mankiller' at Palm Springs festival". The Desert Sun. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
  6. ^ David, Mark (May 23, 2007). "Gale Anne Hurd and Jonathan Hensleigh's Pasadena Palace". Variety. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
  7. ^ Harris, Janelle (August 14, 2013). "SO WHAT DO YOU DO, GALE ANNE HURD, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER OF THE WALKING DEAD?". Mediabistro. Retrieved October 15, 2014.
  8. ^ "Dispatches From the Set – Executive Producer Gale Anne Hurd". AMC. Archived from the original on July 23, 2010.
  9. ^ "TV: First 'The Walking Dead' Webisode Takes Us to Zombie School". BloodyDisgusting. June 11, 2010.
  10. ^ Goldstein, Patrick (January 15, 1999). "Film Director Elia Kazan to Receive Oscar, Forgiveness". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
  11. ^ "Gale Anne Hurd Biography". Madeinatlantis.com. Retrieved June 7, 2012.
  12. ^ "Women in Horror Month: Gale Anne Hurd, the Harbinger of Mainstream Horror". Fangoria. February 18, 2015. Archived from the original on June 6, 2016. Retrieved February 18, 2015.
  13. ^ "Executive Producer". AMC. October 18, 2012.
  14. ^ Kilday, Gregg (June 24, 2011). "Producer Gale Anne Hurd and Composer David Newman Join Academy Board". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 25, 2022.
  15. ^ "Producing the unseen". Variety. October 3, 2012.
  16. ^ "The 2013 Laura Ziskin Lifetime Achievement Award". athenafilmfestival.com. Archived from the original on September 18, 2013. Retrieved July 13, 2017.
  17. ^ "Never mind Oscar, here's the 2017 FANGORIA Chainsaw Awards Nominees Ballot!". FANGORIA®. Archived from the original on July 6, 2017. Retrieved February 14, 2017.
  18. ^ Holson, Laura M. (June 16, 2003). "The Terminator and the Hulk Help Build a Career". New York Times.
  19. ^ "Gale Anne Hurd Biography". Madeinatlantis.com. Retrieved June 7, 2012.
  20. ^ Holson, Laura M. (June 16, 2003). "The Terminator and the Hulk Help Build a Career". New York Times.
  21. ^ "'Walking Dead' Producer Gale Anne Hurd Steps into $7.3 Million Mount Olympus Contemporary". www.yahoo.com. October 14, 2021. Archived from the original on July 4, 2023. Retrieved November 2, 2021.
[edit]