Biography
Howard W. Koch (1916–2001) was an American film producer and director. Born in New York City, he began his career in the 1930s at Universal Pictures and 20th Century Fox before working as an assistant director from 1944. He produced his first feature in 1953 and directed episodes of television series including Maverick (1957) and The Untouchables (1959–1960).
Koch served as head of film production at Paramount Pictures from 1964 to 1966 and later maintained a long-term production arrangement with the studio. Among his credits as producer or executive producer are The Manchurian Candidate (1962), The Odd Couple (1968), Airplane! (1980), Airplane II: The Sequel (1982) and Ghost (1990). He produced the Academy Awards ceremony on eight occasions and received the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award in 1990. He was president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences from 1977 to 1979.
