Henry G. Saperstein

Henry G. Saperstein Born June 2, 1918 Chicago, Illinois, USA Died June 24, 1998 (aged 80) Beverly Hills, California, USA Occupation Film producer; president of UPA, Henry G. Saperstein Enterprises, Benedict Pictures, etc. First work Mister Magoo (TV 1960–61) Notable work Invasion of Astro-Monster (1965)

Henry Gahagen "Hank" Saperstein was an American film producer and distributor. As a young man, Saperstein inherited his father's cinema chain in Chicago before moving on to television distribution. He moved to Hollywood in 1955, and purchased United Productions of America in 1960. At UPA, Saperstein produced the successful Mister Magoo television series and its spinoff television specials and series. Saperstein formed a relationship with Japanese studio Toho in the 1960s, co-producing three of its kaiju movies in 1965 and 1966 and arranging for American actors Nick Adams and Russ Tamblyn to appear in them. Saperstein would subsequently work with Toho in the 1970s and '80s to attempt putting together several Godzilla projects which never materialized. Saperstein was part of the negotiations with Hollywood studios in the early 1990s that attempted to get a Hollywood Godzilla film made. He passed away from cancer in Beverly Hills, California, on June 24, 1998, at the age of 80. He is survived by his daughter, Pat.

Selected filmography

Executive producer

• Frankenstein vs. Baragon (1965) [with Tomoyuki Tanaka, Reuben Bercovitch; uncredited in Japanese version]
• Invasion of Astro-Monster (1965) [with Tomoyuki Tanaka, Reuben Bercovitch; uncredited in Japanese version]
• The War of the Gargantuas (1966) [with Tomoyuki Tanaka, Kenichiro Tsunoda, Reuben Bercovitch; uncredited in Japanese version]

Miscellaneous

• Godzilla (TV 1978–1979) – Produced in association with
• Terror of Mechagodzilla (1978) – Presenter [American TV version]
• GODZILLA (1998) – Liaison / merchandise licensing [uncredited]

Selected bibliography

• Godzilla vs. Barkley (1993) – Special thanks
• The Official Godzilla Compendium (1998) – Special thanks

Unmade projects

• U.S.-Japan Collaboration: Godzilla (1978)
• Godzilla vs. the Devil (1978) [unconfirmed]
• Animated Godzilla film (1988)

Videos

"Nick Adams & Henry Saperstein in Japan" Kaiju Masterclass panel with Pat Saperstein and Allyson Adams

External links

• Interview by John Rocco Roberto (1995)

References

This is a list of references for Henry G. Saperstein. These citations are used to identify the reliable sources on which this article is based. These references appear inside articles in the form of superscript numbers, which look like this: ^[1]

Comments

Showing 5 comments. When commenting, please remain respectful of other users, stay on topic, and avoid role-playing and excessive punctuation. Comments which violate these guidelines may be removed by administrators.

Loading comments...