Born in New York City; educated at Columbia University School of Journalism. A former New York Herald Tribune reporter and sales executive for a recording company, in 1934 he went to Hollywood to help organize the corporate merger of four companies into Republic Pictures. He remained with the company as executive producer until 1940 and was responsible for many of Gene Autry's and John Wayne's early Westerns. In 1940 he moved over to Paramount and in 1947 to 20th Century-Fox and soon gained a reputation as a successful producer of entertaining, profitable, and occasionally meritorious films. In 1956 he joined MGM, where he was elevated to vice president in charge of production in 1958, replacing Dore Schary. Among his almost 100 film credits as producer or associate producer, some of the notable include SPRINGTIME IN THE ROCKIES (1937), THE LONE RANGER, UNDER WESTERN STARS and ARMY GIRL (all 1938), DARK COMMAND (1940), NIGHT OF JANUARY 16TH (1941), STREET OF CHANCE (1942), BLUE SKIES (1946), THE PERILS OF PAULINE (1947), THE IRON CURTAIN (1948), A LETTER TO THREE WIVES, I WAS A MALE WAR BRIDE and PRINCE OF FOXES (all 1949), PANIC IN THE STREETS, STELLA and MY BLUE HEAVEN (all 1950), FOURTEEN HOURS, I CAN GET IT FOR YOU WHOLESALE and ON THE RIVIERA (all 1951), WHAT PRICE GLORY (1952), CALL ME MADAM, THE PRESIDENT'S LADY and GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES (all 1953), THREE COINS IN THE FOUNTAIN, BROKEN LANCE and THERE'S NO BUSINESS LIKE SHOW BUSINESS (all 1954), HIGH SOCIETY (1956), LES GIRLS (1957), SOME CAME RUNNING (1958), THE WORLD THE FLESH AND THE DEVIL (1959), HOME FROM THE HILL (1960), WALK DON'T RUN and ALVAREZ KELLY (both 1966) and NO WAY TO TREAT A LADY (1968).  Nominated for Best Picture 1949: A LETTER TO THREE WIVES - Producer at 20th Century-Fox  Nominated for Best Picture 1954: THREE COINS IN THE FOUNTAIN - Producer at 20th Century-Fox 2 nominations