Charles H. Schneer Video | Clips from Films Produced and Interviews

Charles H. Schneer (May 5, 1920 – January 21, 2009) was a film producer most widely known for working with special effects pioneer, Ray Harryhausen. He was born in Norfolk, Virginia and died in Boca Raton, Florida, aged 88. After graduating from Columbia University in 1940, he served in the US Army's Signal Corps Photographic Unit. After the war, he moved to Hollywood, and after joining Columbia Pictures, he was introduced to Harryhausen by a mutual friend from his Army days. Together they made It Came From Beneath The Sea (1955), about a giant octopus that wreaks havoc on the Golden... MORE

Charles H. Schneer (May 5, 1920 – January 21, 2009) was a film producer most widely known for working with special effects pioneer, Ray Harryhausen. He was born in Norfolk, Virginia and died in Boca Raton, Florida, aged 88. After graduating from Columbia University in 1940, he served in the US Army's Signal Corps Photographic Unit. After the war, he moved to Hollywood, and after joining Columbia Pictures, he was introduced to Harryhausen by a mutual friend from his Army days. Together they made It Came From Beneath The Sea (1955), about a giant octopus that wreaks havoc on the Golden Gate Bridge. The octopus had only six tentacles, which Schneer is reported to have been correct in claiming no one would notice. This film made use of stop-motion photography which the two men were to use to greater effect in later films including Jason and the Argonauts (1963), The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1974), and Clash of the Titans (1981). Schneer also produced the film version of the stage musical Half a Sixpence (1967) starring Tommy Steele and Hellcats of the Navy (1957), the only film starring both Ronald Reagan and Nancy Reagan (as Nancy Davis). LESS