Philip D'Antoni

Philip DAntoni February 19 1929 April 15 2018 was an American film and television producer He was best known for producing the Academy Awardwinning 1971 film The French Connection DAntoni attended Evander Childs High School in the Bronx He then served in the United States Army from 1946 to 1948 during the occupation of Japan after World War II He was eventually assigned to Special Services where he entertained troops by participating in theatrical productions After army service he attended Fordham University from 1948 to 1950 where he worked during the day attended school at night and graduated with a degree in business administration DAntoni began his career on television with the production of the specials Sophia Loren in Rome Elizabeth Taylor in London and Melina Mercouri in Greece He produced Bullitt in 1968 In 1971 he produced The French Connection which won the Best Picture award among other wins at the Oscars In 1973 he produced and directed The SevenUps After The SevenUps DAntoni who held the rights to French Connection II and Gerald Walkers novel Cruising eschewed feature filmmaking and turned his attention to television production where he enjoyed a lucrative contract with NBC DAntonis crime dramas are characterized by a cold gritty street perspective with documentary style often filmed during the bleak New York winter months and offer the viewer a realistic and often dangerous sense of being an insider as opposed to using glamorous locations or produced sets DAntoni won the Academy Award in 1972 for Best Picture and the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture Drama for The French Connection