Steve Krantz

Producer

By VARIETY STAFF

Producer Steve Krantz died Jan. 4 in Los Angeles from complications of pneumonia. He was 83. 

Krantz worked on projects ranging from "Tonight Show" with Steve Allen on NBC to X-rated toon, "Fritz the Cat."

Born in New York, he graduated Columbia College and then served in the Army.

On his return to civilian life, Krantz wrote for Arthur Godfrey and Milton Berle, winning a Peabody award.  He joined NBC where he served as writer-producer of "The Kate Smith Show," and soon became the exec producer for Allen's "Tonight Show." 

Krantz joined Columbia Pictures Television as head of creative development and later as head of international marketing and production. Under his banner, the company produced "Dennis the Menace," "Hazel," "Bewitched" and "Winston Churchill -- The Valiant Years." 

In 1960, he left Columbia to start his own company. His first major success came in acquiring the rights to "The Marvel Superheroes."  He started his own animation studio with branches in Los Angeles, Mexico and New York.  Marvel series accumulated more than 200 episodes and was a long-lasting international success.

 Krantz expanded his activities to include feature animation and had a success with the independently produced "Fritz the Cat," directed by Ralph Bakshi and written by Bakshi and Robert Crumb, which became the first independent animated film to gross more than $100 million. 

He followed with "Heavy Traffic" and "The Nine Lives of Fritz the Cat," which was shown at the Cannes Film Festival. Krantz went on to produce features including "Which Way Is Up" with Richard Pryor, and "Cooley High" which later became the ABC sitcom "What's Happening?"

 In the 1970s, he returned to TV where he produced a number of miniseries, some adapted from bestselling novels written by his wife, Judith Krantz. They included "Scruples," "Princess Daisy," "Mistral's Daughter," "Dazzle," "I'll Take Manhattan" and "Till We Meet Again."  He continued to produce movies for TV until the late 1990s.

 He became a mental health counselor, a member of the board of the 1736 Family Crisis Center and was appointed by Gov. Pete Wilson to the board of the California Council for Mental Health Planning.  He was a board member of Planned Parenthood and president of the Independent Producers Assn. 

He was active in L.A.'s Music Center and a member of the Acad of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the Television Academy.

He is survived by his wife, Judith; sons Tony, a producer; and Nicholas; two grandchildren; and a sister.

Donations may be made to the United Jewish Fund.