Film producer Elliott Kastner died 30 June 2010 of cancer. Born 7 January 1930 in New York City, he attended the University of Miami, served in the US Army, and began his professional career in the mailroom at the William Morris Agency in New York. Later, he was a literary agent, and in 1959, ttook a position at MCA in Los Angeles.
In the early 1960s, MCA merged with Decca Records, which owned Universal Pictures, and Kastner was installed as vice president of production at the movie studio. He left two years later to be an independent producer, and pioneered a new form of production with his 1966 film Kaleidoscope: he financed the film privately, and then sold the finished film to a studio (in this case, Warner Brothers). He worked with many of the biggest names in literature, enticing them into film work, including Vladimir Nabokov, William Inge, and William Goldman.
He had slowed down his work in recent years, producing only three films in the 1990s, and two this decade. His genre productions include: The Blob (1988), Jack’s Back (1988), Zombie High (1987), Angel Heart (1987), Nomads (1986), Death Valley (1982), Goldengirl (1979), Equus (1977), The Nightcomers (1971), and The Devil’s Widow (1970).
Kastner was twice married and divorced. He is survived by his son and daughter from his first marriage, and three stepsons from his second, including producer Cassian Elwes and actor Cary Elwes.