Harold Loeb on AllMovie

A prolific producer who rose to fame for his work on Soldier Blue and Kelly's Heroes, many aren't aware that Harold Loeb also had a career as an actor of stage and screen. Born and raised in New London, CT, Loeb played hoops at Harvard before graduating and finding work as a Warner Bros. publicist. Drafted into the Army shortly after graduation, Loeb earned a Purple Heart in the Battle of the Bulge and returned home to work at both The Independent Film Journal and Motion Picture Daily as a reporter and film reviewer. Loeb subsequently worked as a casting director for Lux Video Theater, and it wasn't long before he was stepping behind the camera as a director for the series. Hoping to become a more proficient director by studying acting, Loeb began to study the craft under the tutelage of such luminaries as Sandy Meisner, Wynn Mandmann, and Lee Strasberg. During this time, Loeb would appear in numerous television series in addition to making the acquaintance of future Soldier Blue scribe John Gay. Loeb would also become a producer of such off-Broadway plays as Carry Me Back to Morningside Heights. A move to New York found Loeb back at Warner Bros., and it was in the Big Apple that Loeb would also meet future wife Joyce Myerson. After producing both Soldier Blue and Kelly's Heroes in 1970, Loeb retired. In May of 2003, Harold Loeb died of cancer in Los Angeles, CA. He was 84.