William N. Graf on AllMovie

William Graf oversaw the production of numerous Columbia Studios features, including The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), Lawrence of Arabia (1962), and Lord Jim (1965). He started out at Warner Bros. in 1937, assisting independent producer/writer Mark Hellinger. Following service with the Army Air Corps, where he scripted training films for the First Motion Picture Unit, Graf became the personal secretary and assistant to studio head Harry Cohn. The mogul was impressed enough with Graf that he soon promoted him to production manager. He was promoted again in 1952, and subsequently supervised Columbia's overseas productions. He produced two movies in 1968, The African Elephant and The End of the Game, and in 1969, Graf produced Sinful Davey.