Fred Roos collaborated with the timeless and legendary Francis Ford Coppola on many great films such as The Godfather (which he cast), The Godfather: Part II (which he produced) and the Oscar-nominated Apocalypse Now. He earned an Emmy for the documentary Hearts of Darkness about the making of Apocalypse Now. Before breaking into the film world, he cast a key slice of Americana with casting for The Andy Griffith Show. He was an LA native and attended UCLA for his undergraduate studies in film. Roos served in the Army in South Korea for two tours and met fellow future Hollywood success story Garry Marshall, known for directing and creating Happy Days, before jumping into the industry. Roos left the Army and started at the MCA talent agency in Beverly Hills. They were the elite of the day with Marlon Brando, Grace Kelly, Marilyn Monroe and many more in their stable of stars. The MCA building still stands across from the Beverly Hills City Hall at 360 North Crescent Drive.
Roos did a lot of interesting jobs at the agency which included chauffeuring Marilyn Monroe around the city. Post-MCA he went into casting such shows as Gomer Pyle: USMC, That Girl, I Spy and Mayberry R.F.D. Roos was known for his ability to spot talent and get them cast and moved over to casting features more often with Five Easy Pieces, which starred Jack Nicholson, Karen Black and Sally Struthers. He discovered Nicholson in 1964 with his first work as a producer for the film Flight of Fury. In the early 70s, Roos went on a roll with casting indies such as The Godfather, Two-Lane Blacktop, Dillinger, American Graffiti and Fat City. Two of which, The Godfather and American Graffiti, were nominated for Oscars and The Godfather won many Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Actor and Best Adapted Screenplay. Roos was hitting even higher heights in his career that was just over a decade old.
Roos developed a reputation way back in college for being a fixer and doer. He had a knack for putting things together and ironing out difficulties on a set. He earned his first Oscar win with The Godfather: Part II for Best Picture and more Oscar nominations with his producing of The Conversation, which starred Gene Hackman, a USMC veteran and Cindy Williams. Roos continued work through the 1970s as a producer even producing The Godfather Saga TV miniseries, which was both of the first two films edited together for release on TV. His next hit came with the Vietnam War epic Apocalypse Now starring Martin Sheen, Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall, Dennis Hopper, Laurence Fishburne and Harrison Ford. It was nominated for eight Oscars and won two; Best Cinematography and Best Sound. The film has gained in further popularity so much so that a Redux version was released in 2001 including 49 minutes of footage that was removed from the initial release. He kept managing issues on set such as when Martin Sheen had a heart attack on location, Roos managed the schedule and gave Sheen rest before he came back while still filming the movie in his absence.
Roos continued his collaboration with Coppola on the majority of his works in the 80s and 90s, such as The Outsiders, Rumble Fish, The Cotton Club, Godfather Part III, and in works with Lucas, such as Tucker: The Man and His Dream and Radioland Murders. He eventually partnered with Sofia Coppola on her films as a producer. His credits and collaborations with Sofia include The Virgin Suicides, Lost in Translation, Marie Antoinette and her most recent film Wonderwell, which came out in 2023. His most recently released collaboration with Francis Ford Coppola came out this year, Megalopolis. He has over 60 producing credits, some of which are still to be released, and 30 plus casting credits. His career included collaborations with stars such as Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Diane Keaton, Talia Shire, Richard Gere, Diane Lane, Gregory Hines, Nicolas Cage, Tom Cruise, Patrick Swayze, Bill Murray, Scarlet Johansson, Kirsten Dunst, Adam Driver, Dustin Hoffman and Carrie Fisher. Roos was married to Nancy Drew and has a son named Alexander Roos who is also a producer. He passed away on May 18, 2024.