On May 25, local time, famous Hollywood producer Albert S. Ruddy passed away suddenly in Los Angeles at the age of 94. Ruddy had won the Oscar for Best Picture twice and was also an important contributor to the successful release of the classic film "The Godfather".
Albert Lardy
Albert Radi was born on March 28, 1930 in a Jewish family in Montreal, Canada. He moved to the United States with his family when he was a teenager. At the age of 18, he graduated from Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute, and then received a scholarship from the City College of New York, where he studied chemical engineering. He transferred to the University of Southern California in Los Angeles and graduated with a degree in architectural design at the age of 26.
Albert Ruddy, who was not a professional, was exposed to the film industry thanks to Roger Corman, the American "King of B-Movies" who passed away earlier this month. In the 1950s and 1960s, the latter had helped a large number of young talents who seemed to be outsiders to enter the industry. Ruddy, who was four years younger than Corman, accidentally opened the door to the film industry. At that time, Corman was making an ultra-low-cost monster movie "The Beast with a Million Eyes", and Ruddy's girlfriend was also a member of the crew. During the visit, Corman heard that Ruddy had studied architecture, so he simply asked him to help and became the art director of the film. Although "The Beast with a Million Eyes" was a bit shoddy due to the tight budget, it also gave Ruddy his first close contact with filmmaking, and his life trajectory changed dramatically.
Albert Ruddy later returned to his old profession of architectural design and worked in an architectural company for a while. But in the end, he decided to join the film industry and worked in the Universal Pictures script studio for a while. He was then found by the father of actor Marlon Brando, Brando Sr., to serve as the producer of the new film "Wild Seed" founded by the film company founded by them.
In March 1970, Paramount Pictures announced that it would make a movie based on the best-selling novel The Godfather, with Albert Ruddy as the producer. Prior to this, he had only produced three films, including The Bastard, which were not very successful. However, the production costs of the three films were kept very low, and it is said that Paramount was attracted by this outstanding feature of his.
Albert Ruddy (left) and Marlon Brando on the set of The Godfather
The production process of "The Godfather" was full of twists and turns. The ability shown by Radi is not only reflected in cost control, but also in his good communication and ability to resolve various disputes. Because of the suspicion that the film would have a negative impact on the Italian community in the United States, "The Godfather" was maliciously boycotted by both the black and white worlds shortly after filming began. Radi's car was damaged by gunfire, and the other party left a note on the dashboard, threatening to kill him if he didn't stop filming. In February 1971, Radi personally met with the New York Mafia boss, Joseph Anthony Colombo Sr., and tried his best to convince him that "The Godfather" would not cause trouble for the local Italians. He also fully listened to the opinions of the Mafia boss on the selection of some supporting roles and extras to ensure that the filming of the film could proceed steadily.
The Offer, a series that focuses on the secrets of filming The Godfather, features Radi as the protagonist
The 2022 series "The Offer", which focuses on the filming secrets of "The Godfather", takes Radi as the protagonist, showing how he runs around between paranoid artists, calculating investors, and pressing gangsters to ultimately ensure the birth of a great movie.
In 1973, Radi won his first Oscar for his role in The Godfather.
At the 45th Academy Awards in 1973, Albert Ruddy won the Best Picture Oscar for The Godfather. In his acceptance speech, he said, "America needs good movies, and good movies need America; good audiences need good movies, and good movies need good audiences. The so-called American dream, in my opinion, is the symbol of the little golden statue I hold in my hand. It is waiting for you to fight for it, for all those who dare to dream and work hard."
After that, he produced the box office successful sports film "The Longest Yard", and co-produced "Cannonball Run" with Hong Kong Golden Harvest Films, starring Jackie Chan, Sam Hui and others.
In 2004, Albert Lardy (center) won his second Oscar for his role in Million Dollar Baby.
In 2004, Albert Ruddy participated in the production of "Million Dollar Baby" which won the Oscar for Best Picture. He and director and co-producer Clint Eastwood appeared on the Kodak Theater stage and won the Oscar for the second time in his life. It was 32 years since he last received the award, which also set a record in the history of the Oscar for Best Picture.
