Tony Owen

Tony Owen (May 2, 1907 – May 12, 1984) was an American agent and producer, who was married to Donna Reed.

Biography Owen was born in Chicago and worked in that city as a journalist. In the late 1930s he produced game programs for the Detroit Lions, and in 1940 became a vice president of the football club.

He served in the army during the war, but was invalided out. He moved to Los Angeles in 1942 and got work as an agent.

Todon Productions Owen and Reed formed their own company, Todon Productions. Owen moved into film production with Duel in the Jungle (1953). It established a formula of using two American leads, an American director, and 80% British crew, to qualify for the subsidies of being a British film and because it was cheaper to make. "As an independent I can give everybody a percentage", said Owen. "This includes a star who will take a cut in lieu of his regular salary of say, $300,000." Owen added that "I believe the American public loves seeing foreign backgrounds. They're a definite plus value."

Duel in the Jungle made $3 million. This launched Todon on a series of films. These included Wherever You Are by Stirling Silliphant (Naples), Twist of the Night (to be shot in Africa), The Man Inside from a novel by Victor Canning (Portugal), The Last Pursuit (about a train robbery to be filmed in Bavaria with British Leion), The Eddie Calvert Story (England), and It's Not Cricket with Ron Randell (England).

That month it was announced Maxwell Setton would run the company in London, to make six films, starting with The Nylon Web which became Town on Trial. Others included The Long Haul (1957) with Victor Mature and Diana Dors, directed by Hughes; I Was Monty's Double (1958) with John Mills directed by John Guillermin;

Owen said "the last one [film] died the death of a dog at the box office. So I came back and started working in television." Postmark for Danger (1955) a.k.a. Portrait of Alison Dial 999 (1955) a.k.a. The Way Out Finger of Guilt (1956) a.k.a. The Intimate Stranger Beyond Mombasa (1956) Town on Trial (1957) I Was Monty's Double (1958) The Long Haul (1957) The Donna Reed Show (1958–66)

Unmade films Twist of Night (1956) from a book by Roger McDermott The Unhappy Warrior (1957) with Van Johnson life story of pianist Roger Williams