Samuel J. Briskin

Samuel J. Briskin was one of the foremost producers of Hollywood's Golden Age, who was the head of production during his career of 3 of the "Big 8" major film studios of its Golden Age: Columbia Pictures (twice), Paramount Pictures, and RKO Pictures. In the late 1950s he would also serve briefly on the board of directors of another major, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. During World War II, Briskin served in the army's Signal Corps as a film producer, attaining the rank of lieutenant colonel. After the war he co-founded Liberty Films with Frank Capra. They were later joined by William Wyler and George Stevens. The studio only produced two films, but both are now considered classics: It's a Wonderful Life and State of the Union. All three of his brothers were also film producers, as well as one of his sons, and his sister was married to the eventual Chairman of Columbia, where Briskin spent the last decade of his life as a vice-president and head of production until his death in 1968 from a heart attack.