Thomas H. Brodek, a producer on the 1980s films The Aviator, starring Christopher Reeve; The Principal, starring Jim Belushi and Louis Gossett Jr.; and Transylvania 6-5000, starring Jeff Goldblum; has died. He was 86.
Brodek died June 15 of cancer at a hospice facility in Surprise, Arizona, his wife of 63 years, author and former Warner Bros. executive Lorraine Brodek, told The Hollywood Reporter.
Brodek served as a senior vp and executive producer for ABC Productions from 1990-2002, when he worked on two Stephen King miniseries, 1999’s Storm of the Century and 2002’s Rose Red, and a 2004 series developed by the author, Kingdom Hospital.
Earlier, he was the executive in charge of production on another high-profile ABC miniseries, the 1981 adaptation of John Steinbeck’s East of Eden.
In 2009, Brodek was hired to produce the final four episodes of Showtime’s The Tudors in Ireland, and he produced Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks (2014), starring Gena Rowlands.
Born in Hollywood, Brodek attended Mark Keppel High School in Alhambra — where Natalie Wood was a classmate — and graduated from USC film school in 1960, where he first met his future wife.
In 1986, he and partner Richard Soames formed Doric Productions to produce studio-developed films as negative pick‑up projects. Their first feature was The Boss’ Wife (1986), starring Daniel Stern, for TriStar Pictures.
Their company was also behind Transylvania 6-5000 (1985), The Principal (1987) and Disney’s Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989).
Brodek headed Southwestern Studios in Carefree, Arizona, where Dick Van Dyke taped CBS’ The New Dick Van Dyke Show from 1971-74; was executive vp production, administration and business affairs for a company headed by producer Mace Neufeld; and served as president of the television division of The Petersen Co.
During his five decades as a producer and executive, Brodek also was vice chairman of the California Film Commission and an adviser to the North Britain Film Commission. He was a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as well.
Survivors include his daughters, Kristin and Kerri, and his grandson, Logan Dunn, a postproduction assistant on the Netflix limited series Sirens.
