Michael Cieply: Two Words For The Late Larry Turman — Thank You

I have just two words for producer Lawrence Turman, who died Saturday at 96. “Thank you.”

Way back in 1968, Larry Turman, who at the time had much bigger things on his mind, managed to change my life. I was then growing up in the working-class suburbs of Detroit. A garage band of which I was the drummer had landed a gig at the Willow Drive-in outside of Ypsilanti. One of the pictures that night was The Graduate, produced by Turman (and directed by Mike Nichols). Although I’d never given it one minute’s thought before, I went home knowing I would live in California.

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It wasn’t Mrs. Robinson that did it. No, really, it was Benjamin Braddock’s manic tour up and down the state, back when California was still as good as its myth. Beverly Hills to Berkeley. Berkeley to Beverly Hills. Palms. Pines. The bridge. The pool. Background music. And in a red Alfa Romeo, no less. Who didn’t want that?

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I’m pretty sure I later told Larry what I owed him, probably when we both had space in Ray Stark’s bungalow on the Sony Pictures lot. Along with Ray’s then-son-in-law John Morrissey, Turman was wrestling with American History X, a difficult production. When his dander was up, you could hear Larry Turman through floors and walls. He was loud, but in a good way — bold, symphonic, the way a strong producer ought to be.

Then again, he played the quiet parts beautifully. Larry was attentive, inquisitive, wily, helpful, available. Those were traits, I’m sure, that made a success of his years in charge of the Peter Stark producing program at USC.

In 2002, Turman was at the center of a piece I wrote for The New York Times, about his hard-charging class of 1994, a group that almost instantly made its mark on the film business.

Larry later said the story helped him to land a book deal. I hope so. That would have been the tiniest down payment on what he was due for The Graduate.

For the balance, I can only say, “Thank you.”

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