Arthur P. Jacobs

Arthur P. Jacobs is best known for producing the "Planet of the Apes" series. He bought the rights to Pierre Boulle's novel Monkey Planet in 1963. Many film studios passed on the project, stating that the concept was unfilmable. Jacobs persevered, and the film was released in 1968 to wide popular acclaim. Jacobs cast his wife, starlet Natalie Trundy, in various roles in the four Apes sequels. Jacobs suffered from heart problems and died at the age of 51 in 1973, shortly after the final Apes film hit the theaters. An excellent character study of Jacobs can be found in John Gregory Dunne's The Studio.