Mark Damon

Mark Damon (born April 22, 1933) is an American film actor and producer. He rose to fame through acting roles in films like Roger Corman’s House of Usher, before moving to Italy and becoming a notable Western star and member of the 1960s Dolce Vita set of actors and actresses in Rome. After starring in over 50 films in the United States and Europe, he quit acting and reinvented himself as a film producer and pioneer of the foreign sales business in the 1970s, and became one of Hollywood’s most prolific producers.

Early life

Mark Damon was born Alan Harris in Chicago, Illinois, the son of a grocer. His family was Jewish, and their surname had originally been "Herscovitz". Damon moved to Los Angeles, California at a young age where he attended Fairfax High School. As a senior in high school, he was scouted as an actor by Groucho Marx, but chose to attend dental school at UCLA. He soon switched to the Anderson School of Management, eventually graduating with an MBA and a BA in English. Damon also began taking theater classes, and decided that he wanted a career as an actor.