Born Mitchell Frankovich in Bisbee, Arizona. Educated at UCLA. Producer who began as a radio announcer and commentator and entered American film as a bit player in the mid-1930s. He sometimes played himself (as a radio announcer) (BUCK PRIVATES and MEET JOHN DOE, both 1941). He started producing at Republic Pictures in 1947. In the early 1950s, he became an independent producer based in Europe. He joined Columbia Pictures' international division in England in 1955 and was involved in the David Lean-Sam Spiegel epics THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI (1957) and LAWRENCE OF ARABIA (1962), as well as DR. STRANGELOVE... (1964). After returning to the US as Columbia's vice president in charge of production in 1964, Frankovich was responsible for such films as CAT BALLOU (1965), A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS (1966), GUESS WHO'S COMING TO DINNER and IN COLD BLOOD (both 1967) and OLIVER! (1968). In 1968, he resigned to produce his own films (often starring Goldie Hawn), and he really came into his own with such films as BOB & CAROL & TED & ALICE, THE LOOKING GLASS WAR, MAROONED and CACTUS FLOWER (all 1969), THERE'S A GIRL IN MY SOUP (1970), DOCTORS' WIVES and THE LOVE MACHINE (both 1971), BUTTERFLIES ARE FREE (1972), 40 CARATS (1973), REPORT TO THE COMMISSIONER (1975), and THE SHOOTIST (1976). In 1940, when Frankovich married actress Binnie Barnes (1903-1998), columnist Louella Parsons asked Barnes, "How could a nice Catholic girl like you marry that awful Jew Frankovich?" not knowing that it was Barnes who was Jewish and Frankovich who was Catholic. When Frankovich became a producer, he barred Parsons from any movie set that he or his wife was working on. Frankovich and Barnes were married from 1940 until his death in 1992. They adopted three children. Father of screenwriter Mike Frankovich, Jr.; uncle of actor Rayford Barnes.  Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award 1983. 1 Honorary Award