Bradley David Neufeld Glenn Jeremy Neufeld Nancy Ann Neufeld
Parent(s)
Margaret Ruth (née Braun) Philip M. Neufeld
Morris "Mace" Alvin Neufeld (July 13, 1928 – January 21, 2022)[1] was an American film and television producer. Born in New York City, Neufeld began working in the entertainment industry as a songwriter and production assistant in the late 1940s and then as a talent agent, managing comics, actors, musicians and writers, including Don Adams, Don Knotts, Neil Diamond, and the Carpenters. He began producing for television in the 1970s and in 1981 was nominated for a primetime Emmy for the TV movie East of Eden.[1]
Described by the L.A. Times as “a prolific producer with old-school Hollywood charm and a Renaissance-man résumé”,[2] Neufeld’s first feature film production was the successful horror film The Omen in 1976, starring Gregory Peck and Lee Remick. Three successful sequels followed. In the 1990s and early 2000s, Neufeld produced several screen adaptations of works by author Tom Clancy, beginning with “The Hunt for Red October,” starring Sean Connery and Alec Baldwin and continuing with Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger and The Sum of All Fears. Film productions in the 2000s included Sahara and Invictus, and in the 2010s, The Equalizer, The Equalizer 2 and the “Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan” series for Amazon.[2][1]
During his life, Neufeld was honored with lifetime achievement awards from the Israel Film Festival and the Palm Springs Film Festival, as well as a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.[3]
He is survived by his wife, Diane Conn, and children Brad Neufeld, Glenn Neufeld, and Nancy Neufeld Callaway.[3]
Early life
Neufeld was born July 13, 1928, in New York City, New York, the son of Margaret Ruth (née Braun) and Philip M. Neufeld, a stockbroker.[4]
In 1944, during his senior year at New York’s Stuyvesant High School, he snapped a photo of an American soldier on crutches emerging from a taxi to greet his parents upon returning from World War II. The New York Daily News bought the photo and devoted a full page to it. The photo became a finalist for that year’s Pulitzer Prize. As a result, Neufeld was offered photography scholarships at the University of Ohio and at USC. He chose instead to enroll at Yale University,[5] where his classmates included George H.W. Bush.[1] After graduation, Neufeld went to work as a production assistant at the DuMont television network. He also composed music, writing songs for Sammy Davis Jr., the Ritz Brothers, and Rosemary Clooney.[1]
Neufeld married fashion designer Helen Katz in 1954, and had three children, Bradley, Glenn and Nancy.[7][8][1] The couple remained together until Helen’s death in 1995. He continued working into his 90s, serving as executive producer on the Amazon series “Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan.” As he told a reporter in 2014, “I figure I’ll continue doing movies as long as I can tie my own shoelaces.”[2]
Neufeld died in Beverly Hills, California, on January 21, 2022, at the age of 93.[9][1] He is survived by his wife, Diane Conn, and his three adult children.[3]
Filmography
He was a producer in all films unless otherwise noted.
^Loomis, Nicky (June 30, 2010). "Mace Neufeld". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 14, 2018. Neufeld is married to designer Helen Katz and has three children.
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