Film Producer Ray Stark Dies at 88

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Film Producer Ray Stark Dies at 88

By BOB THOMAS
The Associated Press
Saturday, January 17, 2004; 10:23 PM

LOS ANGELES - Ray Stark, a publicist and actors' agent who became a Hollywood power broker and producer of such movies as "Funny Girl," "The Way We Were," and "The Sunshine Boys," died Saturday after a long illness. He was 88.

Stark died at his home, longtime friend Warren Cowan said.

Stark was considered the last of the great independent producers, following the pattern of Samuel Goldwyn and David O. Selznick. Like them, he made films that were often based on best-selling books or hit plays, rich in production value and cast with major stars.

But unlike Goldwyn and Selznick, who thrived on publicity, Stark preferred to remain out of the limelight.