Bert Schneider

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Berton "Bert" Schneider (May 5, 1933 – December 12, 2011) was an American film and television producer.

He was responsible for several important and topical films of the late 1960s and early 1970s,^[1] including the road film Easy Rider (1969), directed by Dennis Hopper

Early life and education

He was born Berton Schneider New York City, New York,^[2] the son of one-time Columbia Pictures president Abraham Schneider.

The younger Schneider tended toward the rebellious politics of the day. Briefly a student at Cornell University, located in Ithaca, New York, he was expelled.^[3][4]

His brother, Harold Schneider, would become a film producer as well.

Career

In the early 1960s, he worked for Screen Gems, Columbia's television division. In 1965, Schneider formed a partnership with the film director Bob Rafelson, creating Raybert Productions. The duo brought to television The Monkees (1966–1968), a situation comedy about a fictional rock band (who became a real group, The Monkees, to meet public demand, and their own aspirations).

The success of The Monkees allowed Schneider and Rafelson to break into feature films, first with the counterculture film Head (1968), starring The Monkees, directed by Rafelson and featuring a screenplay co-written Rafelson and Jack Nicholson. The film bombed in its initial release, with Monkees fans disappointed that the disjointed, stream-of-consciousness ring of stories was not just an expanded episode, and "hipper" audiences staying away in droves. A retrospective showing in 1973 helped turn critical opinion around, and today Head is largely praised and enjoyed as a 1960s period piece.^{[citation needed]}

They had their first major success with Easy Rider, which ushered in the era of New Hollywood. Then followed with the drama film Five Easy Pieces (1970), which Rafelson directed.

Following Five Easy Pieces, Schneider and Rafelson added a partner, Stephen Blauner, and Raybert turned into BBS Productions.

They subsequently made a series of films, including the drama films The Last Picture Show (1971), directed by Peter Bogdanovich; The King of Marvin Gardens (1972), directed by Rafelson.

Awards

In 1975, Schneider received an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature for producing Hearts and Minds (1974), a documentary film about the Vietnam War, directed by Peter Davis.^[5]

Private life and death

Schneider was married and divorced from his first wife, Judith, with whom he had two children, Jeff and Audrey, and later married three more times.^{[citation needed]}

Death

He died of natural causes, aged 78, in Los Angeles, California. He was survived by his son and daughter.^[6][7][8]

In popular culture

Peter Fonda based his character, Terry Valentine, in the crime film The Limey (1999) partly on Schneider, according to Fonda's interview on the film's DVD.

Filmography and television work

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See also

	Biography portal
	Film portal
	Television in the United States portal

References

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External links

• Bert Schneider at the Internet Movie Database