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Ray Stark

Ray Stark

Producer · Died January 17, 2004, aged 89 · New York City, New York, USA

Raymond Otto Stark (October 3, 1915 – January 17, 2004) was an American film producer and talent agent. Stark's background as a literary and theatrical agent prepared him to produce some of the most profitable films of the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, such as The World of Suzie Wong (1960), West Side Story (1961), The Misfits (1961), Lolita (1962), The Night of the Iguana (1964), Reflections in a Golden Eye (1967), Funny Girl (1968), The Owl and the Pussycat (1970), The Goodbye Girl (1977), The Toy (1982), Annie (1982), and Steel Magnolias (1989). In addition to his roster of films, Stark formed relationships with various directors and writers throughout his career. Stark made eight films with Herbert Ross, five with John Huston, and three with Sydney Pollack. Additionally, Stark's 18-year partnership with playwright Neil Simon yielded 11 films between the duo, including The Goodbye Girl (1977) and The Sunshine Boys (1975).[1] In 1980, the Motion Picture Academy awarded him the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award for lifetime achievement in film. Description above from the Wikipedia article Ray Stark, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
October 3, 1914
Died
January 17, 2004 (aged 89)
From
New York City, New York, USA
Works as
Producer
Titles
29 on MovieCove · 33 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 37 days to Oct 26Down 44% in 30 days

What are Ray Stark's films like?

Across their 29 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Self.

Genres

Comedy17 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 68th percentile
: browse their Comedy movies
Drama8 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 79th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Drama movies
Biography3 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 83rd percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Biography movies

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

share of theme weight
Bonds
41%
Self
31%
Morality
10%
Power
8%
Survival
4%
Society
3%
Ideas
2%
Romantic love11 titles, browse their movies with this themeFamily bonds7 titles, browse their movies with this themeAmbition6 titles, browse their movies with this themeSelf-worth6 titles, browse their movies with this themeDeception3 titles, browse their movies with this themeComing of age4 titles, browse their movies with this themeFriendship3 titles, browse their movies with this themeMarriage2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 29 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Serious: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their serious movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

A split, not a type: Light 17 · Serious 6 · Dark 6

Stylized: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their stylized movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

A split, not a type: Grounded 18 · Stylized 6 · Heightened 5

Charged: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their charged movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 7 · Charged 20 · Intense 2

Shifting: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their shifting movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 12 · Shifting 14 · Whiplash 3

Some laughs: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their some laughs movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 7 · Some laughs 11 · Funny 11

Even-paced: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their even-paced movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

A split, not a type: Slow burn 15 · Even-paced 14 · Relentless 0

Casual: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their casual movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 16 · Engaged 13 · Full focus 0

Affecting: How much it costs you emotionally; whether you need recovery time. Browse their affecting movies.
Demand · Emotional cost
easyheavy

A split, not a type: Easy watch 13 · Affecting 8 · Heavy 8

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 23 · Open-ended 4 · Ambiguous 2

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Warm
13
Tense
13
Bittersweet
11
Melancholic
10
Romantic
9
Other
25

How their films linger

Bittersweet14 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFeel-good11 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHopeful14 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFun5 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHaunting3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteWistful4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 2 with a twist

  • Happy9
  • Bittersweet15
  • Tragic3
  • 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 Ray Stark's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 17 of their 29 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Ray Stark's 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

33 credits, 29 with a MovieCove page; 3 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.

  • Lost in Yonkers(1993)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 73rd percentile of all films

  • Barbarians at the Gate(1993)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 83rd percentile of all films

  • Steel Magnolias(1989)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all films

  • Biloxi Blues(1988)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 68th percentile of all films

  • Brighton Beach Memoirs(1986)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 69th percentile of all films

  • The Slugger's Wife(1985)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 7th percentile of all films

  • Sylvester(1985)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 50th percentile of all films

  • The Toy(1982)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 36th percentile of all films

  • Annie(1982)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 66th percentile of all films

  • Seems Like Old Times(1980)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 68th percentile of all films

  • The Electric Horseman(1979)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 61st percentile of all films

  • Chapter Two (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1979)

    Producer

  • The Cheap Detective(1978)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 59th percentile of all films

  • California Suite(1978)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 46th percentile of all films

  • Casey's Shadow(1978)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 51st percentile of all films

  • The Goodbye Girl(1977)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all films

  • Murder by Death(1976)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 84th percentile of all films

  • Robin and Marian(1976)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 65th percentile of all films

  • The Black Bird (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1975)

    Executive Producer

  • The Sunshine Boys(1975)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 80th percentile of all films

  • Funny Lady(1975)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 47th percentile of all films

  • The Way We Were(1973)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 83rd percentile of all films

  • Fat City(1972)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all films

  • To Find a Man(1972)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 68th percentile of all films

  • The Owl and the Pussycat(1970)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 60th percentile of all films

  • Funny Girl(1968)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all films

  • This is Streisand (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1968)

    Actor

  • Reflections in a Golden Eye(1967)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 69th percentile of all films

  • Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mamma's Hung You in the Closet and I'm Feeling So Sad (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1967)

    Producer

  • Arrivederci, Baby!(1966)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 26th percentile of all films

  • This Property Is Condemned(1966)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 80th percentile of all films

  • The Night of the Iguana(1964)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all films

  • The World of Suzie Wong(1960)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 77th percentile of all films

Career shape

A full career of 32 titles from 1960 to 1993.

Biggest box office

Steel Magnolias (1989)

$97M worldwide

Highest rated

Funny Girl (1968)

Midcredits 94th

Most popular right now

Steel Magnolias (1989)

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting1 of 32: 1 only acting, 0 with another roleProducing31 of 32: 31 only producing, 0 with another role · typical Midcredits score69th

By decade

1960s8 · 1 acting · 7 crew1970s15 · crew1980s7 · crew1990s2 · crew

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 Ray Stark's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 68th percentile, the median of all 29; across their 29 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 66th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

66thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 29

Approval · how many liked their films

67thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 29

Reach · how many have seen their films

82ndpercentile
Typical film, the median of 29

Midcredits score across 29 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up11
  • 50th to 74th13
  • 25th to 49th4
  • Below 25th1

Shape of the crowd

18 of their 29 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved4
  • Crowd Pleaser18
  • Broadly Agreed1
  • Mixed6

Most divisive · producer

To Find a Man (1972)

70th percentile spread · 16% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · producer

Funny Girl (1968)

Midcredits 94th · 80% liked

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.

Is Ray Stark's work okay for kids?

Across up to 14 MovieCove titles with content scores, violence & gore and frightening / intense run lighter than most films.

Their medianMedian of all filmsMiddle 80% of their titles
Violence & Gore7 titles8–33 · median 21 · mildlighter than most filmsMedian of all films: 44
Sex & Nudity14 titles20–43 · median 29 · mildnear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 32
Profanity8 titles22–49 · median 34 · mildnear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 36
Alcohol & Drugs7 titles33–54 · median 42 · moderatenear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 33
Frightening / Intense7 titles8–34 · median 26 · mildlighter than most filmsMedian of all films: 39

Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.

Who does Ray Stark work with?

People who share at least 2 of Ray Stark's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Margaret Booth shares the most, 12.

Directors

Writers

Actors

Cinematographers and editors

Producers

Mixed roles