Frank Yablans, former Hollywood studio boss, dies at 79

Frank Yablans (r) on the set of The Fury with director Brian de Palma in 1978

Frank Yablans, who ran Hollywood's Paramount film studio during the 1970s, has died at the age of 79 at his home in Los Angeles, his son said.

The movie mogul was at the helm of the studio when it produced films including The Godfather and Paper Moon.

He later worked at MGM and co-wrote the screenplay for 1981 Joan Crawford biopic Mommie Dearest, picking up a Razzie for the worst film of the year.

Yablans also produced a number of movies independently.

He was born in New York and scored early success in the film industry working on Paramount's promotion for the hit 1970 tragi-romance Love Story, starring Ryan O'Neal and Ali McGraw.

Yablans became president of the studio in 1971, remaining in the post for four years, during which time significant films including the first two parts of The Godfather and Chinatown were released.

The Hollywood executive took on the struggling MGM in the early 1980s, but his tenure there proved short-lived.

Towards the end of his career, he headed a company which made family-friendly entertainment and undertook the production of a series of animated features based on the stories of the Bible.

His outfit was also responsible for the HBO costume drama Rome, which was screened from 2005-7.