Fred Roos

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Frederick Ried Roos (May 22, 1934 – May 18, 2024) was an American film producer and casting director. He helped shape the New Hollywood era, especially through his work with Francis Ford Coppola. He won the Academy Award for Best Picture for The Godfather Part II (1974) and was nominated for The Conversation (1974) and Apocalypse Now (1979).

Roos was born in Santa Monica, California, to Florence Mary (Stout) and Victor Otto Roos. He went to Hollywood High School and studied theatre arts and motion pictures at UCLA. He served two tours in the U.S. Army in Korea, where he befriended future producer Garry Marshall. After the service, he worked at MCA Inc., even driving Marilyn Monroe, before becoming a junior agent.

Roos built a reputation as a top casting director. He helped cast Al Pacino in The Godfather, Harrison Ford and Richard Dreyfuss in American Graffiti, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher in Star Wars, and Tom Cruise and others in The Outsiders. He later became Coppola's producing partner, starting with The Godfather as casting director, then The Conversation, and continuing with The Godfather Part II, Apocalypse Now, The Outsiders, Rumble Fish, The Cotton Club, and The Godfather Part III. His other producing credits included The Black Stallion, Hammett, The Virgin Suicides, Radioland Murders, and Town & Country.

Roos received the Casting Society of America's Lifetime Achievement Award in 1988. He served on the jury of the 2007 Moscow International Film Festival. He married Nancy Drew in 1986, and their son Alexander "Sandy" Roos became his producing partner. He died in Beverly Hills, California, on May 18, 2024, four days before his 90th birthday. His last film, Megalopolis, premiered at Cannes in 2024.