Margulies, Stan

Biographical Note

Stan Margulies was born in New York City in 1920. He attended New York University, served as a Staff Sargeant in the US Army during World War II and moved to Los Angeles in 1947 to work as a publicist at RKO Pictures. He married his first wife, Lillian, in 1947. They had two sons, Lee and Edward. Margulies first partnered with David Wolper in 1965 on the film Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines . Their partnership is best known for producing the miniseries Roots (1977) and The Thorn Birds (1983) and lasted through the production of the miniseries The Mystic Warrior in 1983. They also produced the original film version of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971).

After separating from Wolper, Margulies continued to produce made-for-TV movies and miniseries. He won Emmys for producing Roots, Roots: The Next Generation, and Separate But Equal . In 1993, Wolper married his second wife, Ferne. He passed away in Los Angeles in 2001.

From the guide to the Stan Margulies Collection, Bulk, 1977-2001, 1936-2005, (USC Libraries Cinematic Arts Library)