Jerry Gross was one of the great indi film entrepreneurs of all time. When he was nine years old he knew that he wanted to become a film distributor. Here is a tiny excerpt from his soon to be published biography. The piece starts off with a nine-year-old, that's Jerry, writing a letter to Republic Pictures.

"Dear Republic Pictures,
I am the manager of Loew's 175th Street Theatre. The mail sometimes
gets lost so please send the following to my home address, listed above:

1 pressbook of 'DON DAREDEVIL MEETS ATOM MAN'
(your serial in 12 chapters)
1 set "8x10" action stills from each chapter
1 6'x4' lobby standing display of 'DON DAREDEVIL AND HIS
HORSE BUSTER'"

This is how Jerry began his career in the film business. Well, actually, a year earlier at age eight he stole the big letter "M" after a man changing the marquee of the uptown theatre had left it unattended at the base of his ladder.

He was know for being an advertising genius, and the producer/distributor of many hits including:

Erskine Cauldwell's GOD'S LITTLE ACRE, Elia Kazan's BABY DOLL, Dalton Trumbo's classic, JOHNNY GOT HIS GUN, Federico Fellini's JULIET OF THE SPIRITS, Academy Award Nominee TURKISH DELIGHT (Paul Verhoeven's first American Film), New York Film Critics Award Winner STAVISKY with John Paul Belmondo, MONDO CANE, FRITZ THE CAT, PENITENTIARY, STING OF THE DRAGON MASTER, AFRICA BLOOD AND GUTS, THE BOOGEYMAN, BLOOD BEACH, SWEET SWEETBACK and MADAME BUTTERFLY.

In addition, he produced "ALL THE KIND STRANGERS," one of the highest rated (in the season it aired) TV movies-of-the-week for ABC-TV.

He was featured in a 28-page spread in Variety (the motion picture trade magazine)highlighting his importing of films from overseas.

Jerry Gross was a hands-on executive who's written, produced, directed, photographed, edited and distributed 56 motion pictures for over 25 years.