Watch Saul Zaentz Videos

Saul Zaentz ( /ˈzænts/; born February 28, 1921) is an American film producer and former record company executive. He has won the Academy Award for Best Picture three times and in 1996 was awarded the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award. Zaentz's film production career is marked by a dedication to the adaptation of the novel. A prolific reader, Zaentz typically does not produce original screenplays. His most recent production, Goya's Ghosts, is an exception, being an original story by Jean-Claude Carrière and Miloš Forman. Zaentz was born to immigrant Jewish parents in Passaic, New... MORE

Saul Zaentz ( /ˈzænts/; born February 28, 1921) is an American film producer and former record company executive. He has won the Academy Award for Best Picture three times and in 1996 was awarded the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award. Zaentz's film production career is marked by a dedication to the adaptation of the novel. A prolific reader, Zaentz typically does not produce original screenplays. His most recent production, Goya's Ghosts, is an exception, being an original story by Jean-Claude Carrière and Miloš Forman. Zaentz was born to immigrant Jewish parents in Passaic, New Jersey. After serving in the United States Army during World War II, Zaentz began realizing his passion for music as a distributor for Granz's Jazz Record company, a job that included managing concert tours for greats like Duke Ellington and Stan Getz. Zaentz went to William B.Cruz Memorial school number 11 in Passaic New Jersey as a child. In 1955 he joined Fantasy Records, for many years the largest independent jazz record label in the world. In 1967 Zaentz and other partners purchased the label from founders Max and Sol Weiss. The partners signed roots-rock group Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR), LESS