American film studio executive
Y. Frank Freeman circa 1910
Young Frank Freeman (14 December 1890 – 5 February 1969) was studio head at Paramount Pictures from 1938 to 1959. Freeman was born in Greenville, Georgia , and graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1910. In addition to his work with Paramount, he also worked in the fields of banking, higher education, and athletics.
He joined S.A. Lynch Theatrical Enterprises in Atlanta who later were acquired by Paramount. He rose through Paramount's ranks and moved to Hollywood in 1932. In 1935, he was elected vice president in charge of theater operations and by 1938 he had been named vice president in charge of studio operations. His secretary, Alice Marchak, described him as pushy. He remained in this role until 1959. He retired from Paramount in 1967.
He was president of the Association of Motion Picture Producers from 1940 to 1944 and chairman in 1947–48.
He was the first winner of the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award in 1957, for his charitable work. He was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on February 8, 1960.
He was also chairman of LA Bureau of the Federal Reserve Board from 1944 to 1947 and deputy chairman in San Francisco in 1954–55. Freeman supported Thomas Dewey in the 1944 United States presidential election .
He died in California and was buried at Westview Cemetery in Atlanta.
He was married to Margaret and their son, Y. Frank Freeman Jr., was a movie producer who died in 1962.
Awards for Y. Frank Freeman
1928–1950
Warner Bros. / Charlie Chaplin (1928)
Walt Disney (1932)
Shirley Temple (1934)
D. W. Griffith (1935)
The March of Time / W. Howard Greene and Harold Rosson (1936)
Edgar Bergen / W. Howard Greene / Museum of Modern Art Film Library / Mack Sennett (1937)
J. Arthur Ball / Walt Disney / Deanna Durbin and Mickey Rooney / Gordon Jennings , Jan Domela , Devereaux Jennings, Irmin Roberts, Art Smith, Farciot Edouart , Loyal Griggs , Loren L. Ryder , Harry D. Mills, Louis Mesenkop , Walter Oberst / Oliver T. Marsh and Allen Davey / Harry Warner (1938)
Douglas Fairbanks / Judy Garland / William Cameron Menzies / Motion Picture Relief Fund (Jean Hersholt , Ralph Morgan , Ralph Block , Conrad Nagel )/ Technicolor Company (1939)
Bob Hope / Nathan Levinson (1940)
Walt Disney , William Garity , John N. A. Hawkins, and the RCA Manufacturing Company / Leopold Stokowski and his associates / Rey Scott / British Ministry of Information (1941)
Charles Boyer / Noël Coward / Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (1942)
George Pal (1943)
Bob Hope / Margaret O'Brien (1944)
Republic Studio, Daniel J. Bloomberg , and the Republic Studio Sound Department / Walter Wanger / The House I Live In / Peggy Ann Garner (1945)
Harold Russell / Laurence Olivier / Ernst Lubitsch / Claude Jarman Jr. (1946)
James Baskett / Thomas Armat , William Nicholas Selig , Albert E. Smith , and George Kirke Spoor / Bill and Coo / Shoeshine (1947)
Walter Wanger / Monsieur Vincent / Sid Grauman / Adolph Zukor (1948)
Jean Hersholt / Fred Astaire / Cecil B. DeMille / The Bicycle Thief (1949)
Louis B. Mayer / George Murphy / The Walls of Malapaga (1950)
1951–1975 1976–2000 2001–present
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