Russell S. Doughten Jr.(1927-2013)
- Producer
- Writer
- Director
Born and raised in Iowa, Russell S. Doughten Jr. was interested in
dramatics as a boy and yet never looked upon it as a profession. But
while attending Drake University on an athletic scholarship, his
interest in dramatics grew and, following a World War II Navy stint, he
returned to Drake to study acting and directing. Doughten later
attended the Yale Graduate School of Drama, where he wrote, directed
and acted. After Yale, Doughten sent his résumé to companies that made
religious movies and was invited to join Good News Productions, a
filmmaking outfit operating out of the small village they owned in
bucolic Chester Springs, Pennsylvania. When Good News formed a secular
counterpart (Valley Forge Films), Doughten produced the first of their
features, 1958's The Blob (1958). Doughten worked in Hollywood for several
years but eventually returned to Iowa and founded Heartland Productions
and Mark IV Pictures, under whose banners he has produced dozens of
feature-length Christian movies (including an "end of days" series
based on Biblical prophecies). When Heartland and Mark IV ended in the
mid-90s, Doughten formed Russ Doughten Films, Inc. (www.rdfilms.com),
to carry on the tradition.
