Quick! Name a popular movie made after 1978! It may seem far-fetched, but the odds are pretty good that you named a movie that Frank Marshall was involved in making. Before he began working as a producer and director, Marshall actually did a bit of film acting, with small roles in Targets and The Last Picture Show. In 1972, Marshall moved into the producer role, serving as line producer and associate producer on movies like Paper Moon, Daisy Miller and The Last Waltz. Since then, he’s been churning out hit movie after hit movie, with titles on his resume including (but not being limited to) The Warriors, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Poltergeist, Twilight Zone: The Movie, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Gremlins, Back to the Future, The Goonies, Innerspace, *batteries not included, Empire of the Sun, An American Tail, Hook, The Sixth Sense, The Bourne Identity, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, War Horse and more!
While his frequent collaborator Steven Spielberg may get the lion’s share of the attention, I think all of us film fans owe Frank Marshall a debt of gratitude for helping to create some of the best movies of all time. He turns 66 today.