Born in Brooklyn, New York City, he was the youngest of seven children born to affluent Polish-Jewish immigrants; his father was a property developer.[3] After the Wall Street Crash, he took up work as a magician's assistant to help the family finances.[4]
Hal E. Chester, as he was now known, managed to convince Monogram to place him on contract as a producer in 1945. Meanwhile, he entered into an agreement with comic strip writer-cartoonist Ham Fisher, creator of the Joe Palooka comic strip cartoon character.[4] Between 1946 and 1951, Chester, as producer, was responsible for a series of what became eleven Joe Palooka movies starring Joe Kirkwood, Jr beginning with Joe Palooka, Champ (1946).
After sailing to Britain on The Liberte in 1955 with his wife Virginia (née Wetherly) and two young sons, he was able to take advantage of tax laws intended to encourage international co-productions.[4] The couple, who had married in 1948, soon had a third son soon afterwards.[3] The family adapted so well to British life they set up permanent home in London, where Chester lived until he died.[5] He produced The Weapon (1956) for Republic Pictures in a co-production deal. He co-wrote the screenplay and produced Night of the Demon (1957), which according to Martin Scorsese is "one of the scariest films ever made".[4] Starring Dana Andrews and Peggy Cummins, it was directed by Jacques Tourneur. He followed it with The Two Headed Spy (1958) and School for Scoundrels (1960) with Terry-Thomas, Ian Carmichael, Alastair Sim and Janette Scott. This comedy, derived loosely from the books of Stephen Potter was a box-office success, but also the last hit of Chester's career.[4]
Chester's second son died in a car accident in 1978, as did his wife in 1980. In 2003, Hal E. Chester suffered a stroke which left him severely incapacitated and died in London on March 25, 2012.[3]
^ abcdQuinn, Michael (May 30, 2012). "Hal E Chester". The Stage. London. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
^ ab"Hal E. Chester". BFI Film Forever. Retrieved January 1, 2019.
^ abcd"Hal E. Chester". The Times. London. May 2, 2012. Retrieved September 4, 2018. (subscription required)
^ abcdefghijVallance, Tom (May 23, 2012). "Hal E Chester: Producer of cult hit Night of the Demon". The Independent. London. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
^ abcFinler, Joel (April 16, 2012). "Hal E Chester obituary". The Guardian. London. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
chester, born, harold, ribotsky, march, 1921, march, 2012, american, film, producer, writer, director, former, juvenile, actor, bornharold, ribotsky, 1921, march, 1921brooklyn, york, usdiedmarch, 2012, 2012, aged, london, ukoccupation, film, producer, writer, . Hal E Chester born Harold Ribotsky March 6 1921 March 25 2012 1 was an American film producer writer director and former juvenile actor 1 2 Hal E ChesterBornHarold Ribotsky 1 1921 03 06 March 6 1921Brooklyn New York USDiedMarch 25 2012 2012 03 25 aged 91 London UKOccupation s Film producer writer director actorYears active1935 2003SpouseVirginia Wetherly m 1948 died 1980 wbr Children3 Contents 1 Early life and career 2 British career 3 Filmography 4 References 5 External linksEarly life and career EditBorn in Brooklyn New York City he was the youngest of seven children born to affluent Polish Jewish immigrants his father was a property developer 3 After the Wall Street Crash he took up work as a magician s assistant to help the family finances 4 Originally credited as Hally Chester in theater productions taking the surname of his step mother 1 he appeared in the premiere production of Dead End by Sidney Kingsley on Broadway at the age of 14 4 Playing the part of Dippy one of the gang of kids soon known as The Dead End Kids he toured in this play for 22 weeks before accepting an offer to appear in the sequel to the film version Crime School 1938 for Warner Bros which had Humphrey Bogart cast in one of the leading roles 4 As a teen actor his most regular work was with the Little Tough Guys series for Universal appearing also in Juvenile Court 1938 for Columbia in which Rita Hayworth appears 4 and the East Side Kids for Monogram Pictures His last appearance in this series was in Sea Raiders 1941 Hal E Chester as he was now known managed to convince Monogram to place him on contract as a producer in 1945 Meanwhile he entered into an agreement with comic strip writer cartoonist Ham Fisher creator of the Joe Palooka comic strip cartoon character 4 Between 1946 and 1951 Chester as producer was responsible for a series of what became eleven Joe Palooka movies starring Joe Kirkwood Jr beginning with Joe Palooka Champ 1946 He also produced Smart Woman 1948 The Underworld Story 1950 The Highwayman 1951 and Models Inc 1952 Working with stop motion animator Ray Harryhausen he produced The Beast from 20 000 Fathoms 1953 based on a Ray Bradbury story in which a monster created by the effects of atomic bomb tests terrorises Manhattan 4 From a budget of 250 000 its rentals totaled 5 million 3 Crashout 1955 a film about convicts on the run followed 5 He co wrote and produced The Bold and the Brave 1956 starring Nicole Maurey and Mickey Rooney which led to Academy Award nominations for Rooney and the screenplay writer British career EditAfter sailing to Britain on The Liberte in 1955 with his wife Virginia nee Wetherly and two young sons he was able to take advantage of tax laws intended to encourage international co productions 4 The couple who had married in 1948 soon had a third son soon afterwards 3 The family adapted so well to British life they set up permanent home in London where Chester lived until he died 5 He produced The Weapon 1956 for Republic Pictures in a co production deal He co wrote the screenplay and produced Night of the Demon 1957 which according to Martin Scorsese is one of the scariest films ever made 4 Starring Dana Andrews and Peggy Cummins it was directed by Jacques Tourneur He followed it with The Two Headed Spy 1958 and School for Scoundrels 1960 with Terry Thomas Ian Carmichael Alastair Sim and Janette Scott This comedy derived loosely from the books of Stephen Potter was a box office success but also the last hit of Chester s career 4 Chester later produced His and Hers 1961 The Comedy Man 1964 and along with Peter Stone and Frank Tarloff co wrote the screenplay for Father Goose 1964 starring Cary Grant The Double Man 1967 a cold war spy thriller 5 features Yul Brynner and Britt Ekland in the leads while The Secret War of Harry Frigg 1968 stars Paul Newman Chester s last film as producer was Take A Girl Like You 1970 directed by Jonathan Miller It was based on the Kingsley Amis novel was adapted by George Melly and stars Hayley Mills and Oliver Reed 4 For the remake of School for Scoundrels 2006 Chester was credited as an executive producer 2 Chester s second son died in a car accident in 1978 as did his wife in 1980 In 2003 Hal E Chester suffered a stroke which left him severely incapacitated and died in London on March 25 2012 3 Filmography EditYear Title Role Notes1938 Crime School Boy Uncredited1938 Little Tough Guy Dopey1938 Personal Secretary Newsboy Uncredited1938 Juvenile Court Lefty1938 Little Tough Guys in Society Murphy1938 Newsboys Home Murphy1939 Off the Record Reform School Inmate Uncredited1939 Code of the Streets Murph1939 When Tomorrow Comes Newsboy Uncredited1939 The Witness Vanishes Copy Boy Uncredited1939 Call a Messenger Murph1940 East Side Kids Fred Dutch Kuhn1940 You re Not So Tough Second Newsboy Uncredited1940 Boys of the City Buster1940 Junior G Men Murph Uncredited1941 Hit the Road Trusty1941 Mob Town Boy Uncredited1941 Sea Raiders Swab Serial final film role References Edit a b c d Quinn Michael May 30 2012 Hal E Chester The Stage London Retrieved September 4 2018 a b Hal E Chester BFI Film Forever Retrieved January 1 2019 a b c d Hal E Chester The Times London May 2 2012 Retrieved September 4 2018 subscription required a b c d e f g h i j Vallance Tom May 23 2012 Hal E Chester Producer of cult hit Night of the Demon The Independent London Retrieved September 4 2018 a b c Finler Joel April 16 2012 Hal E Chester obituary The Guardian London Retrieved September 4 2018 External links EditHal E Chester at IMDb Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Hal E Chester amp oldid 1118723341, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
