Andrew J. Kuehn

Andrew J. Kuehn (September 24, 1937 – January 29, 2004) is notable for revolutionizing the American film trailer in the early 1960s and for producing and directing featurette films for television like Lights, Camera, Annie!Getting in Shape for the "Main Event", Behind the Scenes: Beyond the Poseidon Adventure, documentaries and feature-length motion pictures, including D.O.A., Get Bruce and Terror in the Aisles.

Andrew J. Kuehn was raised on the South side of Chicago, Illinois. He attended the University of Miami, produced a local radio show and worked as a floor manager for a local sports television show. In 1961, Kuehn started working with National Screen Service, which was the predominate, if not singular, provider of motion picture trailers to Hollywood. At the time, their trailers typically featured a great deal of copy, slowly paced editing, bold graphic treatment of titles and cast information, and a presentational style borrowed from circus pitchmen and carnival barkers.

Tapped by MGM to come to Hollywood, he contributed to the success of such important films such as Doctor Zhivago, and Blowup," and in 1964, Andrew J. Kuehn distributed his independently produced trailer for Night of the Iguana, using stark, high-contrast photography, fast-paced editing and a provocative narration by a young James Earl Jones. His format was so successful, he began producing this new form of trailer with partner Dan Davis.

Kuehn opened the West Coast office of Kaleidoscope Films in 1968 and Kuehn and his company became a major player in the trailer industry for the next three decades. As Hollywood began to produce bigger blockbuster films and invest more money in marketing them, directors like Steven Spielberg, Oliver Stone and Barbra Streisand began to depend on Kuehn and Kaleidoscope for their ability to create the best trailers theater-goers could see. Kuehn alumni include leading trailer makers and marketing creatives.

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