Richard Shepherd Biography

Fast Facts

• Served in the U․S․ Army after World War II, where he was stationed in occupied Germany to cover stories for "Stars and Stripes․"
• His son, Scott Shepherd, is the producer and writer behind TV series like "Miami Vice" and "The Dead Zone․"
• Started out as an independent film producer, often working with Martin Jurow on films like "The Hanging Tree" and "Love in a Goldfish Bowl․"
• Was hired by Lew Wasserman to work for MCA right after graduating from Stanford in the 1940s
• Quote: "It's a very tough industry, and the stakes are very high․ You rely on your gut feeling; I think the first requisite is that you have to have a story in which there is someone the audience can care about, somebody they want to root for․"
• Best known as the producer of "Breakfast at Tiffany's," "The Hanging Tree," and "The Fugitive Kind․"
• Oversaw blockbusters like "The Exorcist" and "The Towering Inferno" for Warner Bros․ and "Clash of the Titans" and "Fame" for MGM
• Was the head of production at MGM and Warner Bros․ and later founded the Artists Agency
• Represented a number of Hollywood stars at the Artists Agency, including Marilyn Monroe, Richard Harris, and Rex Harrison
• He and Martin Jurow were responsible for keeping the song "Moon River," which would go on to win an Oscar in 1962, from being removed from "Breakfast at Tiffany's" by Paramount's head of production