BENJAMIN MELNIKER

MELNIKER--Benjamin.

Born in 1913 in Bayonne, NJ, died on February 26, 2018, at age 104. After graduating from Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn at age 15, he attended Brooklyn College and then entered Fordham Law School at age 18. It was then that he began his long career in the entertainment field, working evenings as an usher at the Loews King Theater in Brooklyn, eventually being named Assistant Chief Usher. After a short period in private practice upon graduation, he was employed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer as an attorney. Over an almost 30-year period he rose to the positions of General Counsel and Sole Executive Vice President, member of the Board of Directors and of the Executive Committee, and Chairman of the Film Selection Committee. During his tenure at MGM, he was involved with some of the most memorable films ever made, including Ben-Hur, Dr. Zhivago, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and Gigi. After leaving MGM, he became President and CEO of Jerry Lewis Cinemas, and then for the next 40 years was a producer or executive producer of a number of movies and television programs. These included the movies Mitchell, Shoot, Swamp Thing, Return of Swamp Thing, Constantine, The Spirit, National Treasure, and all of the acclaimed Batman feature motion pictures. His television credits included the series Dinosaucers, Fish Police, Swamp Thing, Three Sovereigns for Sarah, and Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego, for which he won a daytime Emmy. He had a reputation in the industry as a tough negotiator, one whose word could be relied on, and one who always adhered to the highest ethical standards. He was devoted to his family and was a true mensch. He was predeceased by his wife of 71 years, Shirley, and his son, Charles. He is survived by his son, Harvey, daughters-in-law, Heather and Nadine, five grandchildren, Avital, Douglas (Rachael), Sophie (Matt Shuman), Lara (Shaun Keating), and Carly (Noah Cooper), and five great-grand- children, Zoe, Jacob, Sadie, Charles, and Maxwell.