Michael Mindlin, publicity and production executive for theater, ballet and motion pictures, died March 7 in New York City of lung cancer. He was 80.
A New York native, Mindlin began his show business career as an office boy at Warner Bros. in New York City. Rising through the advertising and publicity ranks, he worked on such films as "Summertime," starring Katharine Hepburn, and "Trapeze," starring Burt Lancaster.
He was David Merrick's production associate on six Broadway shows, among them "Gypsy."
As an exec for the independent production company Filmways in the 1960s, Mindlin co-produced and directed the feature-length documentary "A Journey to Jerusalem," which included Leonard Bernstein and Isaac Stern.
He was also a production exec for Warner Brother, Paramount and Frank Yablans.
He co-wrote the 1989 book "Which Reminds Me," a collection of anecdotes about show business, with actor Tony Randall. Subsequently, Mindlin organized his own memories into a monologue, performed Off Broadway in New York and in Los Angeles, "Memories of an Unknown Celebrity." He had recently turned that material into a book.
Mindlin is survived by a sister and his former wife, Freda Mindlin.
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