Frank McCarthy (producer)

Frank McCarthy
2ndAssistant Secretary of State for Administration
In office September 1, 1945 – October 11, 1945
Preceded by	Julius C. Holmes
Succeeded by	Donald S. Russell
Personal details
Born	June 8, 1912 NearRichmond, Virginia
Died	December 1, 1986 Woodland Hills, California
Education	Virginia Military Institute

Frank McCarthy(June 8, 1912 – December 1, 1986) was the secretary of theGeneral Staffof theUnited States Department of WarduringWorld War II;brieflyUnited StatesAssistant Secretary of State for Administrationin 1945; and later a distinguishedfilm producer,whose productionPattonwon the 1970Academy Award for Best Picture.

Biography

Early years, 1912–40

Frank McCarthy was born nearRichmond, Virginia,on June 8, 1912. He attendedJohn Marshall High Schooland then theVirginia Military Institute,graduating in 1933.

After graduating from the Virginia Military Institute, McCarthy worked as areporterfor theRichmond News Leader.He then moved toNew York Cityand became thepress agentfor legendaryBroadwaytheater producerGeorge Abbott'sBrother Rat(1937), afarceabout students at the Virginia Military Institute. (In 1938,Brother Ratwas made into a film starringPriscilla LaneandWayne Morris.Ronald Reaganwas cast in a minor role, and it was during this film shoot that Reagan met his future wifeJane Wyman.)

Career during World War II, 1940–45

In mid-1940, following theFall of Franceto invasion byNazi Germany,McCarthy enlisted in theUnited States Army Reserve.By 1941, McCarthy had attained the rank ofcoloneland wasaide-de-campto theChief of Staff of the United States Army,GeneralGeorge C. Marshall.According toAndrew Roberts' bookMasters and Commanders(HarperCollins,2009) McCarthy was ahomosexual,a fact unknown to Marshall who kept on introducing him to attractive young women. Roberts cites no source for this.

From 1943 to 1945, McCarthy served as the secretary of theGeneral Staffof theUnited States Department of War.For his service inWorld War II,McCarthy was awarded theDistinguished Service Medal,theLegion of Merit,and was made anOfficer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire.He left the Army with the rank ofbrigadier general.

Shortly after the end of the war,President of the United StatesHarry Trumannamed McCarthyAssistant Secretary of State for AdministrationunderUnited States Secretary of StateJames F. Byrnes.Only 33 years old at the time, McCarthy is thus the youngestAssistant Secretary of Statein United States history. However, he only held the office as a placeholder, from September 1, 1945, until October 11, 1945, when he was replaced byDonald S. Russell.

Producer, 1945–86

After the war, McCarthy moved toHollywoodand became afilm producer,first for20th Century Fox,then forUniversal Studios.In 1951,Decision Before Dawn,a spy picture that McCarthy produced withAnatole Litvakwas nominated for theAcademy Award for Best Picture.He later producedSailor of the King(1953) andA Guide for the Married Man(1967).

McCarthy spent nearly twenty years working on a biographical film of GeneralGeorge S. Patton.This film,Patton,(1970) was directed byFranklin J. Schaffnerand starredGeorge C. Scottas Patton. In 1971, at the43rd Academy Awards,Pattonwon theAcademy Award for Best Picture(with McCarthy, as the film's producer, accepting the award); Schaffner won theAcademy Award for Best Director;and Scott won theAcademy Award for Best Actor.Scott refused to attend the 43rd Academy Awards, so McCarthy accepted Scott's Oscar on Scott's behalf. The next day, Scott refused his Oscar (the first actor to do so) and McCarthy therefore returned it to theAcademy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

McCarthy planned aTom Swiftfeature movie in 1968, to be directed byGene Kelly.A script was written and approved, and filming was to have begun during 1969. However, the project was canceled by20th Century Foxowing to the poor reception of the moviesDoctor DolittleandStar!,despite a $500,000 airship being built as a prop.After the release ofPatton,McCarthy continued to work on a script to be filmed on a lower budget.

McCarthy later produced an earlyTV movie,Fireball Forward,a 1972 war drama. In 1977, he produced the filmMacArthur,an account of GeneralDouglas MacArthur's life from 1942 to 1952 starringGregory Peck.

McCarthy died ofcanceron December 1, 1986, at theMotion Picture & Television Country House and HospitalinWoodland Hills, Los Angeles,at the age of 74.

External links

• Frank McCarthyatIMDb
• "War Hero, Youngest Assistant Secretary of State, Producer Frank McCarthy Dies at 74",Los Angeles Times,Dec. 3, 1986