MARK DAMON

(22 April 1933 – 12 May 2024)

The American film producer and former actor Mark Damon, who has died aged 91, seems to have followed in the footsteps of fellow producer Roger Corman in that he kept his eye on the business of film rather than any acting roles that came his way.  He got his big break from Corman in the 1960 adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe’s The Fall of the House of Usher. The film won him the Golden Globe for being the best new star of tomorrow. Damon had been acting in minor films from 1956 beginning with Fred F. Sears’ film noir Inside Detroit. He acquired a contract at the Fox studio but eventually moved to Italy and became involved in the spaghetti Western genre.

Mark Damon was born Alan Harris in Chicago to an immigrant Jewish family. He attended the UCLA School of Management, studied dentistry but eventually took acting classes. After getting into films and some television work, he aspired to be on the management side of film making so started independent sales and production companies in Italy. His Producers Sales Organisation started selling US films around the world and he encouraged foreign sales business and independent film production and contracts.

Eventually Damon had his own production company (MDP) for sales and expansion of the film business and it earned over $2 billion in sales. He was behind the licensing of over 300 features including Never Say Never Again, Prizzi’s Honour, The Cotton Club, Once Upon a Time in America and The Final Countdown.

His career was a mixture of film acting and film production. Some of his Italian movies include appearances in Corman-like titles such as Black Sabbath, Ringo and the Golden Pistol, Johnny Yuma, Long Live Robin Hood, The Devil’s Wedding Night and Crypt of the Living Dead. However, he did also make a token appearance in The Longest Day in 1962. An actor in some 50 films and executive producer on over 70 titles, Mark Damon had an extraordinary career. Some of his films were Oscar-nominated - Das Boot, The NeverEnding Story, The Jungle Book – and Charlize Theron won for Monster.

Mark Damon was first married to Barbara Frey and then the actress Margaret Marlon. They had two children.

MICHAEL DARVELL