Dig A Hole: Charles H. Joffe, Woody Allen’s loyal producer
July 15th, 2008 by Scott Marks
With Woody Allen off playing jazz, Jack Nicholson presents producers Charles H. Joffe (left) and Jack Rollins with their 1977 best pictures Oscar for Annie Hall.
Until today, I never knew what Charles H. Joffe looked like. His business partner Jack Rollins had a bit part in Broadway Danny Rose and frequent (hilarious) cutaways on Late Night with David Letterman, but until I stumbled across this photo on the LA Times website, Mr. Joffe’s face remained a mystery.
His name was anything but.
As with any good Hebrew student/retardate, repetition is the key to learning and I saw Mr. Joffe’s name appear on screen at least a hundred times. And that was just one movie!
That opening weekend screening of Woody Allen’s Take the Money and Run in the big Old Orchard Theatre was oxygen to my 14-year-old brain. It must have been a cheap rental for the film played on the bottom half of double-bills for years to come. No matter what theater, I was there and each one of my hundred-plus viewings came before home video.
Don’t ask how many times I saw Bananas.
More than Diane Keaton or Carlo Di Palma or Mia Farrow or even Jack Rollins, Charles H. Joffe’s name was synonymous with Woody Allen’s. Of the 44 films directed by Allen only four (two shorts, a made for TV feature and Tiger Lily) don’t include Charles H. Joffe’s name in the credits. He also produced two of Allen’s early non-directorial efforts, Play it Again, Sam and The Front.
I am saddened to report that Mr. Joffe died Wednesday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles after a long illness. He was 78.
Continue reading Dig A Hole: Charles H. Joffe, Woody Allen’s loyal producer
Tags: Academy Award, ANNIE HALL, Charles H. Joffe, Charles Joffe, Charlie Joffe, Comedy, David Letterman, Jack Rollins, Jack Rollins and Charles H. Joffe, Jack Rollins and Charles Joffe Productions, Manager, Obituary, Oscar, TAKE THE MONEY AND RUN, Talent Agent, Woody AllenFiled Under Obituaries