Roger Gimbel

Roger Gimbel
BornMarch 11, 1925
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
DiedApril 26, 2011 (age 86)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
EducationB.A. Yale University
Spouse(s)??
(m. 19??; div. 19??)
Nancy Straus Gimbel
(m. 19??; died 1972)
​
​
(m. 1976)​
Children5
Parent(s)Julia de Fernex Millhiser Gimbel
Richard Gimbel
FamilyAdam Gimbel (great-grandfather)

Roger Gimbel (March 11, 1925 – April 26, 2011) was an American television producer who specialized in television movies. Many of Gimbel's television films dealt with real-life events, including Chernobyl: The Final Warning, S.O.S. Titanic, The Amazing Howard Hughes, and The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman.[1] Often, Gimbel's films also focused on serious societal problems, including mental illness, war, and domestic abuse.[1] Gimbel produced more than 50 television films and specials, which earned eighteen Emmy Awards.[2]

Biography

Gimbel was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on March 11, 1925, into the family who owned the Gimbels department store.[1] His parents were Julia (née de Fernex Millhiser) and the Col. Richard Gimbel, U.S.A.F.[3][4] He enrolled at Yale University, where he studied economics.[1] Gimbel served as a member of the United States Army Air Forces in Italy during World War II.[1]

In 1973, Gimbel won an Emmy with George Schaefer for their work as the executive producers of A War of Children (1972), which centered on Protestant and Catholic friends during the Northern Ireland conflict.[1] His other credits as producer include The Glass House (1972), I Heard the Owl Call My Name (1973), The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman (1974), Tell Me Where It Hurts (1974), Queen of the Stardust Ballroom (1975), The Amazing Howard Hughes (1977), Shattered Dreams (1990), and Chernobyl: The Final Warning (1991).[1]

Personal life

Gimbel was married three times. His first marriage ended in divorce; his second wife, Nancy Straus Gimbel, died in 1972.[3] In 1976, Gimbel married his third wife, actress Jennifer Warren.[3] Roger Gimbel died from pneumonia at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California, on April 26, 2011, at the age of 86.[2] He had four children with his second wife:[1] Jeff, Stephen Martin (predeceased), Sam, and Liza;[5] and a son, Barney, with Warren.[6][7]

At one time when he lived in an 18th-floor Sutton Place apartment overlooking the East River, he liked to catch fish from his apartment window.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h "Passings: Roger Gimbel, 86, producer of made-for-TV movies; John Cossette, 54, longtime Grammy Awards' executive producer; W. Barclay Kamb, 79, Caltech professor specialized in glacial sciences". Los Angeles Times. 2011-04-29. Archived from the original on May 2, 2011. Retrieved 2011-05-01.
  2. ^ a b "Roger Gimbel, Emmy-winning TV producer, dies at 86; worked with Bing Crosby, Sophia Loren". Newser. Associated Press. 2011-04-28. Archived from the original on 2011-05-04. Retrieved 2011-05-01.
  3. ^ a b c New York Times: "Miss Warren Wed To Roger Gimbel" June 7, 1976
  4. ^ New York Times: "Col. Richard Gimbel Dies at 71; Flier Was Yale Library Curator" May 28, 1970
  5. ^ New York Times: "Mrs. Richard Gimbel" April 18, 1972
  6. ^ New York Observer: "Fortune’s Barney Gimbel Leaves Magazine Amid Plagiarism Charge" by John Koblin February 26, 2009
  7. ^ New York Times: "Lauren Winfield, Barney Gimbel - Weddings" November 4, 2012
  8. ^ New York Times: "Sutton Place Man Catches Eels From His 18th-Story Window" May 12, 1960, page 37