# Lawrence Turman

Lawrence Turman (November 28, 1926 – July 1, 2023) was an American film producer. He was best known for serving as a producer of The Graduate (1967, for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture.)

## Early life

Turman was born in Los Angeles, California on November 28, 1926, into a Jewish family. His father was Jacob Turman and his mother Esther Gldman Turman. Turman served in the U.S. Navy during World War II.

## Career

Turman was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture as producer of The Graduate (1967). He also produced other films such as Pretty Poison (1968), The Great White Hope (1970), The Thing (1982), Mass Appeal (1984), Short Circuit (1986), The River Wild (1994), and American History X (1998).
Turman also directed two films: The Marriage of a Young Stockbroker (1971) and Second Thoughts (1983).
Turman was co-partner on The Turman/Foster Company with David Foster, which was established in 1972, to make theatrical films, which was increasingly prominent in television production, in order to eye on television movies, and planned work on series, and eyeing television sales, and the company ran under contract to Warner Bros., developing their failed television pilots, like Mass Appeal.
Turman was a member of the Producers Guild Hall of Fame. He served as the director of The Peter Stark Producing Program at the University of Southern California.
Turman published the book So You Want to be a Producer in 2005.
In 2014, he appeared as a guest critic on the fourth season of the web series On Cinema. In 2015, he appeared as himself in ESPN's 30 for 30 documentary Trojan War.

## Death

Turman died at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital in Los Angeles on July 1, 2023, at the age of 96.

## Filmography

He was producer for all films unless otherwise noted.

### Film

| Year | Film | Credit | Notes |
| 1961 | The Young Doctors | | |
| 1963 | I Could Go On Singing | | |
| 1963 | Stolen Hours | Executive producer | |
| 1964 | The Best Man | | |
| 1967 | The Flim-Flam Man | | |
| 1967 | The Graduate | | |
| 1968 | Pretty Poison | Executive producer | |
| 1970 | The Great White Hope | | |
| 1971 | The Marriage of a Young Stockbroker | | |
| 1974 | The Nickel Ride | Executive producer | |
| 1975 | The Drowning Pool | | |
| 1977 | First Love | | |
| 1977 | Heroes | | |
| 1979 | Walk Proud | | |
| 1981 | Caveman | | |
| 1982 | The Thing | | |
| 1983 | Second Thoughts | | |
| 1984 | Mass Appeal | | |
| 1985 | The Mean Season | | |
| 1986 | Short Circuit | | |
| 1986 | Running Scared | | |
| 1988 | Short Circuit 2 | | |
| 1988 | Full Moon in Blue Water | | |
| 1989 | Gleaming the Cube | | |
| 1994 | The Getaway | | |
| 1994 | The River Wild | | |
| 1997 | Booty Call | Executive producer | |
| 1998 | American History X | Executive producer | |
| 2001 | Kingdom Come | Executive producer | |
| 2001 | What's the Worst That Could Happen? | | |
| 2011 | The Thing | Executive producer | Final film as a producer |

#### Miscellaneous crew

| Year | Film | Role |
| 1963 | I Could Go On Singing | Presenter |
| 1964 | The Best Man | Presenter |
| 1980 | Tribute | Presenter |

#### As director

| Year | Film |
| 1971 | The Marriage of a Young Stockbroker |
| 1983 | Second Thoughts |

### Television

| Year | Title | Credit | Notes |
| 1969 | The Flim-Flam Man | Executive producer | Television pilot |
| 1973 | She Lives! | Executive producer | Television film |
| 1974 | Get Christie Love! | Executive producer | Television film |
| 1974 | The Morning After | Executive producer | Television film |
| 1974 | Unwed Father | Executive producer | Television film |
| 1982 | Between Two Brothers | Executive producer | Television film |
| 1982 | The Gift of Life | Executive producer | Television film |
| 1986 | News at Eleven | Executive producer | Television film |
| 1996 | Pretty Poison | Executive producer | Television film |
| 1998 | The Long Way Home | Executive producer | Television film |
| 2000 | Miracle on the Mountain: The Kincaid Family Story | Executive producer | Television film |

#### Miscellaneous crew

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1974 | Savages | Creative consultant | Television film |