Hillard Elkins, a producer who broke down sexual barriers and created one of the biggest hits in Broadway history when he brought the erotic revue "Oh! Calcutta!" to the stage which ran for 20 years. Hilly as his friends called him started out in the mail room at William Morris in New York and quickly rose to become a top agent, heading the company's theatrical division. After forming his own company whose clients included Steve McQueen, James Coburn, Robert Culp, Mel Brooks, Charles Strouse and Lee Adams, Sammy Davis Jr. among others he set up as a producer and in short order developed a string of notable plays and films, including the musical "Golden Boy," the film "Alice's Restaurant" and the Broadway premieres of two plays by Athol Fugard which won double Tonys. With Al Goldin he made his Broadway debut in 1962 with "Come On Strong," A Garson Kanin comedy starring Carroll Baker and Van Johnson. He approached Sammy Davis Jr to take the starring role of the violinist turned prizefighter in a musical version of the Clifford Odets play "Golden Boy." He then lured Odets out of retirement to writ the book, which was revised after Odets death in Aug.1963 by William Gibson. It won four Tony nominations for best musical, best actor in a musical, best choreography and best producer of a musical. More seriously he produced the Ibsen plays "Hedda Gabler" and A Doll's House" in London, Broadway and opened the Kennedy Center in Washington with his then wife Claire Bloom. He went on to write his own chapter in the history of the 1960s counterculture when he produced Ken Tynan's musical sex revue "Oh! Calcutta! and with Arthur Penn as director he produced the film version of Arlo Gutherie's "Alice's Restaurant". In 1960 he created his first production company, Elkins Productions International. His frenetic style and knack for juggling multiple theater and film projects simultaneously was captured in the 1972 book "The Producer" an inside look at show business by Christopher Davis. His producing projects over the years included "The Rothschilds" 1970 starring Hal Linden and Jill Clayburgh. Sammy Davis Jr. "Stop the World", Ben Vereen's Pippin, Leonard Bernstein's Candide, The Huberman Festival in Israel, Gore Vidal's Richard Nixon, The Leary-Liddy debates, Quentin Crisp and Georgia Brown in Concert as well as numerous films including the Elaine May-Walter Matthau comedy "A New Leaf" (1971) and "Richard Pryor: Live in Concert(1979)praised by Pauline Kael as probably he greatest of all recorded-performance films. He is survived by his wife Sandi Love, his two sons Johnny and Daniel and granddaughter Ellen.
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Biography from IMDb.
- October 18, 1929
- December 1, 2010 (aged 81)
- New York City, New York, USA
- Producer, also actor
- 13 on MovieCove · 18 credits in all
What are Hillard Elkins' films like?
Across their 12 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Self and Bonds.
Genres
Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 11
Light 4 · Serious 6 · Dark 2
Grounded 10 · Stylized 0 · Heightened 2
Gentle 3 · Charged 8 · Intense 1
Steady 5 · Shifting 6 · Whiplash 1
A split, not a type: Straight-faced 8 · Some laughs 2 · Funny 2
Slow burn 8 · Even-paced 4 · Relentless 0
Casual 7 · Engaged 5 · Full focus 0
A split, not a type: Easy watch 6 · Affecting 2 · Heavy 4
Resolved 11 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 1
Moods and endings
- Happy5
- Bittersweet4
- Tragic1
- Ambiguous2
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Hillard Elkins' films?
As of October 24, 2026, 6 of their 13 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (5).
Subscription and free streaming for Hillard Elkins' titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
18 credits, 13 with a MovieCove page; 2 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.
For Love of Liberty: The Story of America's Black Patriots (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2010)
Midcredits score: 84th percentile of all films
In His Father's Shoes(1997)
Midcredits score: 54th percentile of all films
To Dance with Olivia(1997)
Midcredits score: 59th percentile of all films
Sex, Censorship and the Silver Screen (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1996)
Inside (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1996)
Midcredits score: 61st percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 24th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
A Father for Charlie(1995)
Midcredits score: 73rd percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 25th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
Midcredits score: 22nd percentile of all films
The Deadly Game (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1982)
Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all films
Richard Pryor: Live in Concert (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1979)
A Doll's House(1973)
Midcredits score: 50th percentile of all films
Oh! Calcutta!(1972)
Midcredits score: 10th percentile of all films
A New Leaf(1971)
Midcredits score: 91st percentile of all films
Alice's Restaurant(1969)
Midcredits score: 55th percentile of all films
Career shape
A full career of 15 titles from 1969 to 2010.
Biggest box office
A Doll's House (1973)
Highest rated
A New Leaf (1971)
Most popular right now
Father & Son: Dangerous Relations (1993)
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.
How do Hillard Elkins' films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 55th percentile, the median of all 13; across their 12 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 52nd percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up3
- 50th to 74th6
- 25th to 49th1
- Below 25th3
Shape of the crowd
7 of their 13 titles are Mixed.
- Cult Classic1
- Crowd Pleaser5
- Mixed7
Reviewers score the acting 75/100 in their films, across 7 reviewed titles; fans 81, detractors 48. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Who does Hillard Elkins work with?
People who share at least 2 of Hillard Elkins' MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Louis Gossett Jr. shares the most, 6.
Directors
- Gary NelsonShared titles: Ray Alexander: A Menu for Murder (1995), Ray Alexander: A Taste for Justice (1994)See all 2 shared titles with Gary Nelson
Writers
- Dean HargroveShared titles: Ray Alexander: A Menu for Murder (1995), Ray Alexander: A Taste for Justice (1994)See all 2 shared titles with Dean Hargrove
Actors
- Louis Gossett Jr.Shared titles: In His Father's Shoes (1997), Run for the Dream: The Gail Devers Story (1996), A Father for Charlie (1995), Ray Alexander: A Menu for Murder (1995), Ray Alexander: A Taste for Justice (1994), Father & Son: Dangerous Relations (1993)See all 6 shared titles with Louis Gossett Jr.
- James CoburnShared titles: Ray Alexander: A Menu for Murder (1995), Ray Alexander: A Taste for Justice (1994)See all 2 shared titles with James Coburn
- Ossie DavisShared titles: Ray Alexander: A Menu for Murder (1995), Ray Alexander: A Taste for Justice (1994)See all 2 shared titles with Ossie Davis
- Robert GossettShared titles: Ray Alexander: A Menu for Murder (1995), Ray Alexander: A Taste for Justice (1994)See all 2 shared titles with Robert Gossett
Composers and editors
- David SolomonShared titles: Ray Alexander: A Menu for Murder (1995), Ray Alexander: A Taste for Justice (1994)See all 2 shared titles with David Solomon
- Dick DeBenedictisShared titles: Ray Alexander: A Menu for Murder (1995), Ray Alexander: A Taste for Justice (1994)See all 2 shared titles with Dick DeBenedictis
Producers
- Dennis ConsidineShared titles: Run for the Dream: The Gail Devers Story (1996), A Father for Charlie (1995), Ray Alexander: A Menu for Murder (1995), Ray Alexander: A Taste for Justice (1994)See all 4 shared titles with Dennis Considine
- Peter KatzShared titles: Ray Alexander: A Menu for Murder (1995), Ray Alexander: A Taste for Justice (1994)See all 2 shared titles with Peter Katz
- Joseph MandukeShared titles: A New Leaf (1971), Alice's Restaurant (1969)See all 2 shared titles with Joseph Manduke
