Biography
Louis "Duke" Goldstone was born in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1914. He moved to Hollywood in 1932 and started working in the property department at Universal Pictures. Later, he became an editor and director at Paramount, RKO, and Pathe, contributing to numerous theatrical shorts, comedies, and serials, including "Hedda Hopper's Hollywood" and Buck Jones westerns.
In the late 1940s, while at Paramount, Goldstone began collaborating with George Pal as the director of the three-dimensional animated "Puppetoons" and as editor on several of Pal's feature films, such as The Great Rupert (1950) and the Oscar-winning Destination Moon (1950). He subsequently worked with Swift-Chaplin Productions, directing many early classic animated TV commercials like Speedy Alka Seltzer, Hamms Bear, and Jolly Green Giant. Although there is speculation that Goldstone was drawn to Hollywood by the success of his uncle, veteran producer Phil Goldstone (1893–1963), who had 48 producer credits and eight as director across both silent and sound films, Duke carved his own path without relying on his uncle’s influence.
Despite their relation, and with Uncle Phil being a philanthropist and founder of the Motion Picture Relief Fund who loaned money to George Eastman and Samuel Goldwyn, Duke chose to distance himself from leveraging this connection. Others, however, sometimes tried to use Duke as a way to reach Phil, but Duke was not swayed by such attempts.
Phil Goldstone produced films in various genres but was best known for his Ken Maynard western series, which included 11 films released between 1930 and 1932, each with an estimated budget of $10,000 to $15,000. These were popular Saturday matinée fare, alongside the Johnny Weissmuller and Maureen O’Sullivan "Tarzan" films he financed. Phil produced his last film in 1940 and then focused mainly on philanthropy.
During this time, Duke edited the first six episodes of "Hedda Hopper's Hollywood" and worked on A Night at the Follies (1947). He also directed and edited George Pal’s Jasper in a Jam (1946), featuring Peggy Lee, and Hollywood Burlesque (1949). He reunited with George Pal to edit the popular "Puppetoon" series.
Soon after arriving in Hollywood, and without his uncle’s help, Duke edited two Universal films that launched a series inspired by Jack London: On the Great White Trail (1938) and Wolves of the Sea (1936).
In the 1950s, Goldstone transitioned to television, directing episodes of the syndicated series Captain David Grief (1957), based on another Jack London story. He also edited and directed many episodes of the Dick Tracy series (1950), starring Ralph Byrd as the detective created by Chester Gould (Byrd died in 1952 at age 43). Goldstone directed and produced numerous TV shows, including The Liberace Show (1952), Frankie Laine Time (1955), The Swift Show Wagon with Horace Heidt and the American Way (1955), The Ina Ray Hutton Show (1950), Florian Zabach, The Connie Haines Show, and Betty White’s first sitcom, Life with Elizabeth (1952). He also directed the pilot for The Lawrence Welk Show (1951) and a season of half-hour episodes for a UK TV show featuring orchestra conductor Mantovani. Later, Goldstone worked with Roland Reed Productions, producing and directing corporate and military films. Roland Reed III was known for producing early TV classics like My Little Margie (1952), Rocky Jones, Space Ranger (1953), and Waterfront (1954).
In 1965, Reed, his longtime companion Dian Fauntelle, and Goldstone founded RFG Associates, Inc., producing military, corporate, and educational films for clients such as the Department of Defense, Westinghouse Electric, National Electrical Contractors, and the American Gas Association. After Reed’s death in 1972, Fauntelle and Goldstone continued the company, with Goldstone as president and Fauntelle as secretary-treasurer. RFG Associates remained active until 1996. In the 1970s, RFG partnered with Cinema Arts Productions, Inc., led by writer/producer/director Dennis F. Stevens, on projects including the successful films The Harrad Experiment (1973) and its sequel Harrad Summer (1974).
In 1978, Goldstone and RFG joined forces with Stevens and renowned wine writer Robert L. Balzer to produce wine programs and commercials featuring leading wineries from France and California. In 1981, RFG and Cinema Arts produced the jazz TV series Ad Lib, later distributed by the Black Entertainment Network, showcasing artists like Willie Bobo, Conte Candoli, Pete Candoli, Papa John Creach, Scatman Crothers, Jon Hendricks, Linda Hopkins, Freddie Hubbard, Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr., Freda Payne, Kenny Rankin, and Jimmy Witherspoon, with composer Phil Moore as host. The companies also collaborated on The Rocky Road Show (1981), a rock-and-roll TV show featuring Missing Persons, Romeo Void, The Bus Boys, and Tower of Power, distributed globally by the Armed Forces Radio & Television Service (AFRTS).
In 1983, Goldstone hired Dennis Stevens to direct the documentary Plastics: The World of Imagination, co-produced by Goldstone for New York-based Film Counselors, Inc. The film won the Cine Award that year and aired on the Discovery Channel in 1985, 1986, and 1988, as well as the Learning Channel in the 1990s.
Between 1985 and 1986, Goldstone and RFG collaborated again with Stevens and actor Gunnar Hellstrom to produce three low-budget documentaries filmed in Zimbabwe for the South African Broadcasting System. These aired in 1987 and 1988 on SABC and in 1993 on M-Net.
