Who is Richard Zanuck? See Net-worth, Quote, Awards, Fact, Wiki

Richard D. Zanuck Wiki Biography

Richard Darryl Zanuck was born on 13 December 1934, in Los Angeles, California USA, a son of well-known actress Virginia Fox and studio executive and producer Darryl F. Zanuck who was a head of production at 20^th Century Fox at the time. Richard Zanuck was a film producer, perhaps best known for the film “Driving Miss Daisy”, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1989. He passed away in July 2012.

So just how rich was Richard Zanuck? Authoritative sources estimate that Richard Zanuck’s net worth was  an impressive $80 million, mostly accumulated from his career as a film producer spanning over 50 years.

Richard Zanuck Net Worth $80 Million

Richard Zanuck started his career while still studying at Stanford University; his first job was working at the department of 20^th Century Fox film studios.He then had an opportunity to work on a film called “Compulsion”, and eventually became president of the company. However, after he failed with the film “Doctor Dolittle” in 1967, Zanuck was fired by his father, and went to join Warner Bros Company, where he took up the position of an Executive Vice-President.

In 1972, Zanuck together with his friend David Brown formed an independent film production organisation called “The Zanuck/Brown Company”, which was a subsidiary of Universal Pictures. They were soon able to produce “Jaws” and “The Sugarland Express” directed by Steven Spielberg, and also managed to succeed with “Cocoon” and “Driving Miss Daisy”, which won Zanuck an Academy Award for Best Picture. With more public recognition, Richard Zanuck’s net worth began increasing significantly.

Such was the success of the partnership and company, that in 1990 Richard Zanuck and David Brown were awarded the prestigious Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award; joining other recipients of the same award including Steven Spielberg, Alfred Hitchcock, and Clint Eastwood. Richard Zanuck soon became friends with another famous film director and producer Tim Burton, with whom he worked on some of his best movies, helping Burton create the science fiction film “Planet of the Apes” featuring Mark Wahlberg and Tim Roth, as well as “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” with Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter. His net worth continued to row.

Their further collaborations together resulted in the release of a musical horror film “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” that earned $152 million at the box office, as well as the fantasy film “Alice in Wonderland” that generated the remarkable amount of $1 billion in takings, becoming the sixteenth highest-grossing film of all time.

Richard Zanuck’s last works include the horror comedy film “Dark Shadows”, as well as the fantasy film with Angelina Jolie called “Maleficent” for which he received posthumous credit.

Richard Zanuck passed away in 2012 due to a heart attack. Zanuck’s house “Beverly Park” where he lived for the majority of his life was sold that same year for $20 million. Zanuck was married three times, his last wife being Lili Fini Zanuck who he married in 1978, and previously Lili Charlene Gentle(1959-69) with whom he had two children, and Linda Melson Harrison(1969-78), and another two children. His first two wives were actresses, which caused some discomfort in the family home, and contributed to their divorces.