Los Angeles: Renowned Hollywood producer Mace Neufeld died at the age of 93 in Beverly Hills, California. A representative for the Mace Neufeld Productions notified that the producer died peacefully in his sleep, reports ‘Variety’.
Neufeld, whose first film was the ground-breaking horror movie ‘The Omen’ (1976), was survived by his wife, Diane Conn, and two sons and a daughter, as well as nine grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
Born in New York City, Neufeld started his career as a songwriter. Eventually, he progressed as a talent agent, managing comedy and music talents, including Don Knotts, Don Adams, Randy Newman and Neil Diamond.
He turned a television producer in the 1970s, receiving a primetime Emmy nomination for the TV movie ‘East of Eden’ in 1981.
While working in TV, he ventured into cinema as well, starting with ‘The Omen’ in 1976 and producing its sequels as well.
Neufeld, notes ‘Variety’, had a long association with author spy thriller writer Tom Clancy, which started with ‘The Hunt for Red October’, starring Sean Connery and Alec Baldwin. His production company with Robert Rehme shepherded Clancy projects for Paramount. including ‘Patriot Games’ and ‘Clear and Present Danger’.
After Rehme became president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), Neufeld went on to produce the Ben Affleck-starrer ‘The Sum of All Fears’.
His other projects included ‘Sahara’, ‘Invictus’, directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon, the ‘Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan’ series for Amazon, and the Denzel Washington-led ‘The Equalizer’ and ‘The Equalizer 2’.