Arnold Kopelson, Oscar-Winning ‘Platoon’ Producer, Dies at 83

He is survived by his wife/producing partner, Anne Kopelson

arnold kopelson
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Arnold Kopelson, the Oscar-winning producer behind films such as “Platoon,” “The Fugitive” and “Se7en,” has died. He was 83.

Kopelson died in his home in Beverly Hills Monday, a representative at Kopelson Entertainment tells TheWrap. He is survived by his wife and producing partner of 42 years, Anne Kopelson, as well as three children, Peter, Evan and Stephanie.

Kopelson won an Oscar in 1986 for Best Picture for “Platoon” directed by Oliver Stone, and was nominated again for Andrew Davis’ “The Fugitive” in 1993. His last film was 2004’s “Twisted” at Paramount with Ashley Judd, Samuel L. Jackson and Andy Garcia. In all, he produced 29 features.

Born in Brooklyn, Kopelson graduated from New York University and earned a law degree from New York Law School. He began his career with the law firm of Cravath, Swaine & Moore in New York before teaming up with his future wife, Anne Feinberg, in the mid-’70s to form Film Packages, Inc., which would later become Kopelson Entertainment.

Kopelson was named Producer of the Year by the National Association of Theater Owners and received a Lifetime Achievement in Filmmaking Award from Cinema Expo International. Additionally, he received the Motion Picture Showmanship Award from the Publicist Guild of America and was inducted into Variety’s Show Biz Expo Hall of Fame. And in 1998, Kopelson received the New York Law School Distinguished Alumnus Award for Lifetime Achievement.

He also served on the executive committee of the Producers Branch of the Academy and was a member of the Board of Mentors of the Peter Stark Motion Picture Producer’s Program at the University of Southern California.

Kopelson was a member of the CBS Corporation’s Board of Directors from 2007 until September of this year, when he was removed from the board in the legal battle between CBS and the Redstone family.

Funeral services will be held on Wednesday, Oct. 10 at Mt. Sinai Memorial Park, 5950 Forest Lawn Drive, Los Angeles, California,  90068 at 12:30 p.m. A memorial will also take place at a later date.

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