List of The Producers characters
Encyclopedia
The following are fictional character
s from the 1968 film The Producers
, the Broadway musical based on it
, and the film adaptation thereof
.
his equally flamboyant
partner Carmen Ghia and his production crew in a house described as an Upper East Side
town house in New York
.
De Bris is described by Bialystock as the worst director who ever lived, and was chosen by Bialystock in an attempt to ensure that "Springtime for Hitler" would flop.
comedy The Producers
played by Andréas Voutsinas
, its 2001 Broadway show The Producers
by Roger Bart
, and the 2005 musical film The Producers
also by Roger Bart.
The character name sounds the same as the name of the automobile, the Karmann Ghia, marketed from 1955 to 1974 by Volkswagen
.
Actress "Anne Bancroft
recommended Andréas Voutsinas, a fellow performer at the Actors
Studio, for the role of the waspish Carmen Ghia..."
Bart said of his role: ""As Carmen Ghia I was a sprinter. This guy is like a long-distance runner. I
sometimes think to myself, 'Should I have stayed Carmen?'"
Carmen Ghia is Roger De Bris' "common-law assistant". They are both gay and they love to flounce around their Upper East Side
town house.
, titled Springtime for Hitler. The two protagonists, Max Bialystock and Leo Bloom, purchase and produce this "worst play ever written" as part of a plot to defraud investors by overselling and staging a sure-fire flop.
The part was originally cast for Dustin Hoffman
, but Mel Brooks
allowed him to audition for the film adaptation for The Graduate
before shooting began for his own film in anticipation that he would be rejected. Instead, Hoffman was cast as the lead of the film directed by Mike Nichols
and Brooks thus had to recast the Liebkind role.
Liebkind is portrayed as easily enraged. The only background to his character is that he is a Nazi, carrier pigeon
keeper (he named his favorite pigeon Adolf), and playwright
who continues to worship Hitler. In an early draft of the script, he was portrayed as Hitler's former Butler.
In the 2005 remake, Liebkind is set to play the role of Hitler in his musical, but breaks a leg and is replaced by Roger De Bris. This differs from the 1968 film, in which Lorenzo St. DuBois (L.S.D.) is cast as Hitler. When in the original he blows up the theatre with Max and Leo, he is hurt the most because he uses a quick-fuse and doesn't escape quickly enough, and is next shown in court in an all-body cast. In the remake, he tries to flee the police on his broken leg but inevitably breaks the other leg.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
s from the 1968 film The Producers
The Producers (1968 film)
The Producers is a 1968 American satirical dark comedy cult classic film written and directed by Mel Brooks. The film is set in the late 1960s and it tells the story of a theatrical producer and an accountant who want to produce a sure-fire Broadway flop...
, the Broadway musical based on it
The Producers (musical)
The Producers is a musical adapted by Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan from Brooks' 1968 film of the same name, with lyrics written by Brooks and music composed by Brooks and arranged by Glen Kelly and Doug Besterman. As in the film, the story concerns two theatrical producers who scheme to get rich...
, and the film adaptation thereof
The Producers (2005 film)
# "Overture" - Orchestra# "Opening Night" - Opening Nighters# "We Can Do It" - Max and Leo# "I Wanna Be a Producer" - Leo, Accountants, Mr. Marks and Dancing Chorus Girls# "Der Guten Tag Hop-Clop" - Franz, Max, and Leo...
.
Max Bialystock
Roger Elizabeth De Bris is a gay theatre director, described by Max Bialystock as the worst director to have ever lived. He lives withCohabitation
Cohabitation usually refers to an arrangement whereby two people decide to live together on a long-term or permanent basis in an emotionally and/or sexually intimate relationship. The term is most frequently applied to couples who are not married...
his equally flamboyant
Flaming
Flaming, also known as bashing, is hostile and insulting interaction between Internet users. Flaming usually occurs in the social context of an Internet forum, Internet Relay Chat , Usenet, by e-mail, game servers such as Xbox Live or Playstation Network, and on video-sharing websites...
partner Carmen Ghia and his production crew in a house described as an Upper East Side
Upper East Side
The Upper East Side is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, between Central Park and the East River. The Upper East Side lies within an area bounded by 59th Street to 96th Street, and the East River to Fifth Avenue-Central Park...
town house in New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
De Bris is described by Bialystock as the worst director who ever lived, and was chosen by Bialystock in an attempt to ensure that "Springtime for Hitler" would flop.
Carmen Ghia
Carmen Ghia is a fictional character from the 1968 Mel BrooksMel Brooks
Mel Brooks is an American film director, screenwriter, composer, lyricist, comedian, actor and producer. He is best known as a creator of broad film farces and comic parodies. He began his career as a stand-up comic and as a writer for the early TV variety show Your Show of Shows...
comedy The Producers
The Producers (1968 film)
The Producers is a 1968 American satirical dark comedy cult classic film written and directed by Mel Brooks. The film is set in the late 1960s and it tells the story of a theatrical producer and an accountant who want to produce a sure-fire Broadway flop...
played by Andréas Voutsinas
Andréas Voutsinas
Andréas Voutsinas was a Greek actor and theater director. In the English-speaking world, he was best known for his roles in three Mel Brooks films, The Producers , The Twelve Chairs and History of the World, Part I .CareerAndreas Voutsinas was born in Khartoum, Sudan on 22 August 1932 by parents...
, its 2001 Broadway show The Producers
The Producers (musical)
The Producers is a musical adapted by Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan from Brooks' 1968 film of the same name, with lyrics written by Brooks and music composed by Brooks and arranged by Glen Kelly and Doug Besterman. As in the film, the story concerns two theatrical producers who scheme to get rich...
by Roger Bart
Roger Bart
Roger Bart is an American actor and singer.-Life and career:Bart was born in Norwalk, Connecticut, the son of a teacher and a chemical engineer, and grew up in Bernardsville, New Jersey. His uncle is journalist Peter Bart. He made his Broadway debut in Big River as Tom Sawyer in 1987...
, and the 2005 musical film The Producers
The Producers (2005 film)
# "Overture" - Orchestra# "Opening Night" - Opening Nighters# "We Can Do It" - Max and Leo# "I Wanna Be a Producer" - Leo, Accountants, Mr. Marks and Dancing Chorus Girls# "Der Guten Tag Hop-Clop" - Franz, Max, and Leo...
also by Roger Bart.
The character name sounds the same as the name of the automobile, the Karmann Ghia, marketed from 1955 to 1974 by Volkswagen
Volkswagen
Volkswagen is a German automobile manufacturer and is the original and biggest-selling marque of the Volkswagen Group, which now also owns the Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, SEAT, and Škoda marques and the truck manufacturer Scania.Volkswagen means "people's car" in German, where it is...
.
Actress "Anne Bancroft
Anne Bancroft
Anne Bancroft was an American actress associated with the Method acting school, which she had studied under Lee Strasberg....
recommended Andréas Voutsinas, a fellow performer at the Actors
Studio, for the role of the waspish Carmen Ghia..."
Bart said of his role: ""As Carmen Ghia I was a sprinter. This guy is like a long-distance runner. I
sometimes think to myself, 'Should I have stayed Carmen?'"
Carmen Ghia is Roger De Bris' "common-law assistant". They are both gay and they love to flounce around their Upper East Side
Upper East Side
The Upper East Side is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, between Central Park and the East River. The Upper East Side lies within an area bounded by 59th Street to 96th Street, and the East River to Fifth Avenue-Central Park...
town house.
Franz Liebkind
Franz Liebkind is a former Nazi who has penned an admiring musical tribute to Adolf HitlerAdolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
, titled Springtime for Hitler. The two protagonists, Max Bialystock and Leo Bloom, purchase and produce this "worst play ever written" as part of a plot to defraud investors by overselling and staging a sure-fire flop.
The part was originally cast for Dustin Hoffman
Dustin Hoffman
Dustin Lee Hoffman is an American actor with a career in film, television, and theatre since 1960. He has been known for his versatile portrayals of antiheroes and vulnerable characters....
, but Mel Brooks
Mel Brooks
Mel Brooks is an American film director, screenwriter, composer, lyricist, comedian, actor and producer. He is best known as a creator of broad film farces and comic parodies. He began his career as a stand-up comic and as a writer for the early TV variety show Your Show of Shows...
allowed him to audition for the film adaptation for The Graduate
The Graduate
The Graduate is a 1967 American comedy-drama motion picture directed by Mike Nichols. It is based on the 1963 novel The Graduate by Charles Webb, who wrote it shortly after graduating from Williams College. The screenplay was by Buck Henry, who makes a cameo appearance as a hotel clerk, and Calder...
before shooting began for his own film in anticipation that he would be rejected. Instead, Hoffman was cast as the lead of the film directed by Mike Nichols
Mike Nichols
Mike Nichols is a German-born American television, stage and film director, writer, producer and comedian. He began his career in the 1950s as one half of the comedy duo Nichols and May, along with Elaine May. In 1968 he won the Academy Award for Best Director for the film The Graduate...
and Brooks thus had to recast the Liebkind role.
Liebkind is portrayed as easily enraged. The only background to his character is that he is a Nazi, carrier pigeon
Carrier pigeon
A carrier pigeon is a homing pigeon that is used to carry messages. Using pigeons to carry messages is generally called "pigeon post". Most homing or racing type varieties are used to carry messages. There is no specific breed actually called "carrier pigeon"...
keeper (he named his favorite pigeon Adolf), and playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
who continues to worship Hitler. In an early draft of the script, he was portrayed as Hitler's former Butler.
In the 2005 remake, Liebkind is set to play the role of Hitler in his musical, but breaks a leg and is replaced by Roger De Bris. This differs from the 1968 film, in which Lorenzo St. DuBois (L.S.D.) is cast as Hitler. When in the original he blows up the theatre with Max and Leo, he is hurt the most because he uses a quick-fuse and doesn't escape quickly enough, and is next shown in court in an all-body cast. In the remake, he tries to flee the police on his broken leg but inevitably breaks the other leg.