Out of the Past

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

God Speed Stanley Rubin (1917-2014)

Stanley Rubin (1917-2014)

Producer and Screenwriter Stanley Rubin passed away on Sunday at the age of 96. According to his wife of 59 years, actress Kathleen Hughes, he died in his sleep of natural causes. The news of his death made me very sad but I'm glad to know he lived such a long life and that he died peacefully.

Last year at the TCM Classic Film Festival I had the honor of attending a screening of Stanley Rubin's film River of No Return (1954). It's an understatement when I say this was one of the most memorable and moving film experiences of my life. I still tear up thinking about it. You can read my in-depth post about Leonard Maltin's interview with Stanley Rubin at that screening here.

River of No Return (1954) is very special to me and I'll be forever grateful to Stanley Rubin for that fine film. Rubin was such an interesting fellow. He attended UCLA in 1933 and left just a few credits shy of graduating. Rubin had an amazing business opportunity he couldn't pass up and then went on to have a successful and long career in the industry as a screen writer and producer in TV, radio and film. He was the first person ever to receive an Emmy. Besides River of No Return, he produced the film noir classic The Narrow Margin (1952). Rubin has worked for Paramount Pictures, Universal Studios, Columbia Pictures, RKO, 20th Century Fox, MGM, CBS, NBC and he was also an independent film producer.

Stanley Rubin might his wife during the production of River of No Return and that film marks the anniversary of their meeting and relationship. He was the mediator between temperamental director Otto Preminger and actress Marilyn Monroe during the filming of River of No Return and faced many challenges on location as they filmed in the Rocky Mountains' Athabasca River.

Rubin's exit of UCLA just shy of graduation is the perfect example of how life happens when you are making other plans. Stanley Rubin returned to UCLA in 2005 to finish his degree and graduated in 2006.

How wonderful is that graduation photo?! I admire Rubin greatly for both taking advantage of a good opportunity for his career and also for finishing what he started at UCLA so many years ago.

Below are some photos I found earlier this morning on my camera. They are from Leonard Maltin's interview with Stanley Rubin and his wife Kathleen Hughes last year. I really wish I had taken video but I have an audio recording of that interview that I will indeed treasure forever.