David Brown (July 28, 1916 – February 1, 2010)[1] was an American film and theatre producer and writer who was best known for producing the 1975 film Jaws based on the best-selling novel by Peter Benchley.
In 1951, the producer Darryl F. Zanuck hired Brown to head the story department at Zanuck's studio, 20th Century-Fox. Brown eventually rose to become executive vice president of creative operations. He and Richard D. Zanuck, Darryl's son, left Fox in 1971 for Warner Bros., but the following year they set out to form their own production company.
David Brown was married and divorced twice. Helen Gurley Brown would be his third wife.
From 1959, for fifty-one years, until his death, Brown was the husband of Helen Gurley Brown, editor of Cosmopolitan magazine for 32 years, and author of Sex and the Single Girl.
Brown had one son, Bruce, from a prior marriage, who predeceased him, and a half brother, Edward Fisher Brown Jr.
He was known equally for his mannerliness, fine wardrobe, distinctive mustache and for championing writers. He had strong connections with publishers and agents.[citation needed]
Brown wrote Brown's Guide to the Good Life: Tears, Fears and Boredom (2005), which gives advice on life. He also wrote Let Me Entertain You (1990), an anecdotal autobiography.
Death
He died, age 93, at his home in Manhattan from kidney failure on February 1, 2010.[6] His widow, Helen, died on August 13, 2012, age 90. Mr. and Mrs. Brown were laid to rest in late November 2012 in adjacent graves at Sisco Cemetery in Arkansas. Helen's maternal family cemetery is located just south of the village of Osage in Carroll County, Arkansas.
Filmography
He was a producer in all films unless otherwise noted.
