Gale Anne Hurd Explained

Gale Anne Hurd
Birth Date:1955 10, mf=yes
Birth Place:Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Years Active:1980–present
Education:Stanford University (BA)
Occupation:Film and television producer
Children:1

Gale Anne Hurd (born October 25, 1955) is an American film and television producer, the founder of Valhalla Entertainment (formerly Pacific Western Productions)[1] and a former recording secretary for the Producers Guild of America.[2]

Early life

Hurd was born in Los Angeles, the daughter of Lolita (née Espiau) and Frank E. Hurd, an investor.[3] Her father was Jewish, and her mother was Catholic.[4] She grew up in Palm Springs, California and graduated from Palm Springs High School in 1973.[5] She graduated from Stanford University with a BA in economics and communications, and a minor in political science, in 1977.[6]

Film career

She joined New World Pictures as executive assistant to Roger Corman, the company president. She worked her way up through various administrative positions and eventually became involved in production.[7] She formed her own production company, Pacific Western Productions, in 1982 and went on to produce a number of box-office hits including the James Cameron films The Terminator (1984, the screenplay for which she co-wrote with Cameron, her sole screenwriting credit),[8] Aliens (1986), and The Abyss (1989).[9]

In 1989 she played a pivotal role in keeping the American Film Institute from honoring director Elia Kazan for his role 37 years earlier in naming communists when called before the House Un-American Activities Committee.[10] https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/movies/oscars/kazancontroversy.htm

In 1998, she was awarded the Women in Film Crystal Award for outstanding women who, through their endurance and the excellence of their work, have helped to expand the role of women within the entertainment industry.[11]

In 2003, she was awarded the Telluride Tech Festival Award of Technology at Telluride, Colorado, along with Arthur C. Clarke.[12]

In 2010, the drama series she produced, The Walking Dead, began airing on AMC.[13]

Hurd became a governor of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 2011.[14]

On October 3, 2012, she was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.[15]

In 2013, Hurd was awarded the Laura Ziskin Lifetime Achievement Award from the Athena Film Festival, at Barnard College in New York City. The award honors her as a woman in the film industry whose leadership demonstrates vision and courage and sets a standard for other women to emulate.[16]

Hurd was awarded the Fangoria Lifetime Achievement Award in 2017 for her body of work in the horror and science fiction genres.[17]

Personal life

Hurd was married to James Cameron from 1985 to 1989;[18] to director Brian De Palma from 1991 to 1993, with whom she had one daughter, Lolita de Palma, in 1991;[19] [20] and to screenwriter/director Jonathan Hensleigh since 1995.[21]

Filmography

Film

YearTitleDirector(s)Notes
1981Smokey Bites the DustCharles B. GriffithCo-producer
1984The TerminatorJames CameronAlso screenwriter
1986Aliens
1988Bad DreamsAndrew Fleming
Alien NationGraham Baker
1989The AbyssJames Cameron
1990DowntownRichard BenjaminExecutive producer
TremorsRon Underwood
1991James Cameron
1992The WaterdanceNeal Jimenez
Michael Steinberg
Raising CainBrian De Palma
1994No EscapeMartin Campbell
Safe PassageRobert Allan Ackerman
1996The Ghost and the DarknessStephen Hopkins
1997The RelicPeter Hyams
Dante's PeakRoger Donaldson
1998ArmageddonMichael Bay
1999VirusJohn Bruno
DickAndrew Fleming
2002ClockstoppersJonathan Frakes
2003HulkAng Lee
Jonathan MostowExecutive producer
2004The PunisherJonathan Hensleigh
2005Æon FluxKaryn Kusama
2007Welcome to the JungleJonathan Hensleigh
2008The Incredible HulkLouis Leterrier
Lexi Alexander
2013Very Good GirlsNaomi Foner
2018Hell FestGregory Plotkin

Television

YearTitleNotes
1991Cast a Deadly SpellTV movie
2002–2003Adventure Inc.
2010–2022The Walking Dead
2015–2023Fear the Walking Dead
2016Hunters
2017–2018Lore
2020–2021
2022Tales of the Walking Dead
2023–present
2024

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Gale Anne Hurd. Valhalla Entertainment. June 12, 2008. June 4, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160604002650/http://www.valhallamotionpictures.com/gale-anne-hurd. dead.
  2. Web site: Walking Dead Atlanta Recruitment Event . Producers Guild of America . February 19, 2019.
  3. Web site: Gale Anne Hurd Biography (1955–) . Filmreference.com . June 7, 2012.
  4. Book: Gale Anne Hurd Biography . BookRags.com . November 2, 2010 . June 7, 2012.
  5. News: 'Walking Dead' producer returns home to present 'Mankiller' at Palm Springs festival . Bruce . Fessier . The Desert Sun . January 10, 2018 . February 19, 2019.
  6. News: Gale Anne Hurd and Jonathan Hensleigh's Pasadena Palace . Variety . Mark . David . May 23, 2007 . February 19, 2019.
  7. Web site: SO WHAT DO YOU DO, GALE ANNE HURD, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER OF THE WALKING DEAD? . Mediabistro . August 14, 2013 . Janelle . Harris . October 15, 2014 .
  8. Web site: Dispatches From the Set – Executive Producer Gale Anne Hurd . AMC . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20100723002841/http://blogs.amctv.com/the-walking-dead/2010/07/gale-anne-hurd-interview.php . July 23, 2010 . mdy .
  9. Web site: TV: First 'The Walking Dead' Webisode Takes Us to Zombie School. June 11, 2010. BloodyDisgusting.
  10. Web site: Goldstein . Patrick . 1999-01-15 . Film Director Elia Kazan to Receive Oscar, Forgiveness . 2024-06-07 . Los Angeles Times . en-US.
  11. Web site: Gale Anne Hurd Biography . Madeinatlantis.com . June 7, 2012.
  12. Web site: Women in Horror Month: Gale Anne Hurd, the Harbinger of Mainstream Horror . February 18, 2015 . . February 18, 2015 . June 6, 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160606125127/http://www.fangoria.com/new/women-in-horror-month-gale-anne-hurd-the-harbinger-of-mainstream-horror/ . dead .
  13. Web site: Executive Producer. AMC. October 18, 2012.
  14. Web site: Kilday. Gregg. 2011-06-24. Producer Gale Anne Hurd and Composer David Newman Join Academy Board. 2022-01-25. The Hollywood Reporter. en-US.
  15. Web site: Producing the unseen . October 3, 2012 . Variety.
  16. Web site: The 2013 Laura Ziskin Lifetime Achievement Award. athenafilmfestival.com. July 13, 2017. https://archive.today/20130918184723/http://athenafilmfestival.com/the-2013-laura-ziskin-lifetime-achievement-award/. September 18, 2013. dead. mdy-all.
  17. Web site: Never mind Oscar, here's the 2017 FANGORIA Chainsaw Awards Nominees Ballot!. FANGORIA®. 14 February 2017. July 6, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170706012635/http://www.fangoria.com/new/never-mind-oscar-heres-the-2017-fangoria-chainsaw-awards-nominees-ballot/. dead.
  18. News: The Terminator and the Hulk Help Build a Career . Laura M. . Holson . June 16, 2003 . New York Times.
  19. Web site: Gale Anne Hurd Biography . Madeinatlantis.com . June 7, 2012.
  20. News: The Terminator and the Hulk Help Build a Career . Laura M. . Holson . June 16, 2003 . New York Times.
  21. Web site: 'Walking Dead' Producer Gale Anne Hurd Steps into $7.3 Million Mount Olympus Contemporary. 2021-11-02. www.yahoo.com. October 14, 2021. en-US. July 4, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230704182539/https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/walking-dead-producer-gale-anne-222534325.html. dead.