Hal B. Wallis facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Hal B. Wallis
Born	Aaron Blum Wolowicz (1898-10-19)October 19, 1898 Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Died	October 5, 1986(1986-10-05) (aged 87) Rancho Mirage, California, U.S.
Resting place	[my Bed
Occupation	Film producer
Years active	1931–1983
Spouse(s)	Louise Fazenda ​ ​ (m. 1927; died 1962)​ Martha Hyer ​ ​ (m. 1966; his death 1986)​
Children	1

Harold Brent Wallis (born Aaron Blum Wolowicz; October 19, 1898 – October 5, 1986) was a famous American film producer. He helped create many well-known movies. You might know films like Casablanca (1942), The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), and True Grit (1969).

Hal B. Wallis worked for Warner Bros. for many years. There, he produced movies starring famous actors like Humphrey Bogart, Bette Davis, and Errol Flynn. Later, he moved to Paramount Pictures. He then produced films featuring stars such as Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Elvis Presley, and John Wayne.

Life and Career in Movies

Aaron Blum Wolowicz was born on October 19, 1898, in Chicago, Illinois. His parents, Eva and Jacob Wolowicz, were from Poland. They later changed their last name to Wallis.

In 1922, his family moved to Los Angeles, California. The next year, Hal Wallis started working at Warner Bros. in their publicity department. He quickly became involved in making movies. Eventually, he became the head of all movie production at Warner Bros. Over his career, which lasted more than 50 years, he helped make over 400 feature films!

Some of the important movies he produced at Warner Bros. include Casablanca, Dark Victory, The Adventures of Robin Hood, The Maltese Falcon, Sergeant York, and Now, Voyager.

Winning an Academy Award

In March 1944, Hal Wallis won an Academy Award for Best Picture for Casablanca. This happened at the 16th Academy Awards ceremony. However, when the award was announced, the head of the studio, Jack L. Warner, rushed to the stage to accept it instead of Wallis.

Wallis later said he was shocked and couldn't believe it. He felt Casablanca was his creation, and Jack Warner had nothing to do with it. This event made Wallis decide to leave Warner Bros. the very next month.

Working as an Independent Producer

After leaving Warner Bros., Wallis became an independent producer. This meant he made movies on his own. He was very successful, both with audiences and critics. He hired famous writers like Ayn Rand and Lillian Hellman for his new company.

Some of his big hits as an independent producer were the comedies starring Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. He also produced several movies for the music superstar Elvis Presley.

He produced True Grit, a movie for which John Wayne won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1969. Wallis also produced the sequel to that film.

Later, he moved to Universal Pictures. There, he produced movies like Mary, Queen of Scots and Anne of the Thousand Days.

Awards and Recognition

Hal Wallis was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture 16 times. He won for Casablanca in 1943.

He also received the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award twice. This special Academy Award honors producers who consistently make high-quality movies.

Wallis was also nominated for seven Golden Globe awards. He won Best Picture awards twice. In 1975, he received the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award. This award celebrates a person's lifetime achievements in movies.

In 1980, he wrote his autobiography, a book about his own life, called Starmaker. He wrote it with Charles Higham.

Personal Life and Family

In the 1930s, Wallis invested in building homes in Sherman Oaks, California. He even named a street "Halbrent Avenue" after himself, using his nickname "Hal" and his middle name "Brent."

His second wife, actress Martha Hyer, helped donate money to build "The Hal and Martha Hyer Wallis Theatre" at Northwestern University. This is a special type of theater called a black box theater.

Marriages

Hal Wallis was married to actress Louise Fazenda from 1927 until she passed away in 1962. They had one son named Brent, who became a psychiatrist.

Wallis then married actress Martha Hyer in 1966. They were married until his death in 1986.

Later Years and Passing

Hal Wallis passed away in 1986 from problems related to diabetes. He was 88 years old. His death was kept private until after his memorial service.

U.S. President Ronald Reagan sent his condolences to Wallis's family. President Reagan had worked for Wallis in two movies: On Santa Fe Trail and This Is the Army. Hal Wallis is buried in a crypt at the Great Mausoleum in Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California.

Filmography

Here is a list of some of the many movies Hal B. Wallis produced:

• Little Caesar (1931)
• Central Airport (1933)
• The Petrified Forest (1936)
• Kid Galahad (1937)
• West of Shanghai (1937)
• The Invisible Menace (1938)
• The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)
• Comet Over Broadway (1938)
• Dark Victory (1939)
• The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939)
• All This, and Heaven Too (1940)
• Castle on the Hudson (1940)
• Santa Fe Trail (1940)
• Sergeant York (1941)
• The Maltese Falcon (1941)
• They Died with Their Boots On (1941)
• Casablanca (1942)
• Now, Voyager (1942)
• Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)
• This Is the Army (1943)
• Love Letters (1945)
• You Came Along (1945)
• The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946)
• Desert Fury (1947)
• So Evil My Love (1948)
• The Fountainhead (1949)
• Dark City (1950)
• The Furies (1950)
• The Rainmaker (1956)
• Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957)
• Loving You (1957)
• King Creole (1958)
• Career (1959)
• G.I. Blues (1960)
• Blue Hawaii (1961)
• Summer and Smoke (1961)
• Girls! Girls! Girls! (1962)
• Fun in Acapulco (1963)
• Wives and Lovers (1963)
• Becket (1964)
• Roustabout (1964)
• The Sons of Katie Elder (1965)
• Paradise, Hawaiian Style (1966)
• Barefoot in the Park (1967)
• Easy Come, Easy Go (1967)
• True Grit (1969)
• Anne of the Thousand Days (1969)
• Mary, Queen of Scots (1971)
• Rooster Cogburn (1975)

Academy Award Nominations

Hal B. Wallis was nominated for many Academy Awards for Best Picture. Here are some of the films he produced that were nominated:

Hal B. Wallis also received the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award in 1938 and 1943.

See also

In Spanish: Hal B. Wallis para niños