Samuel Z. Arkoff

Samuel Zachary Arkoff (June 12, 1918 – September 16, 2001) was an American film producer renowned for co-founding American International Pictures (AIP) and pioneering low-budget B-movies targeted at teenagers and drive-in theaters during the mid-20th century.

Born in Fort Dodge, Iowa, to a Russian Jewish immigrant family, Arkoff earned a law degree from Loyola University Law School in Los Angeles after serving as a cryptographer in the U.S. Army during World War II. In the early 1950s, he worked as an entertainment lawyer in Hollywood, representing clients in the fringes of the industry, before partnering with producer James H. Nicholson in 1954 to form the American Releasing Corporation, which evolved into AIP the following year. Under AIP, Arkoff produced over 400 films, emphasizing quick, inexpensive productions with sensational titles like I Was a Teenage Werewolf (1957) and the Beach Party series (1963–1966), which capitalized on youth culture trends such as horror, sci-fi, and beach comedies.

Samuel Zachary Arkoff was born on June 12, 1918, in Fort Dodge, Iowa, to Russian Jewish immigrant parents Louis and Helen (née Lurie) Arkoff.

A devoted family man of Russian-Jewish heritage, Arkoff was appointed international ambassador of Variety Clubs in 1973, a showmen’s organization aiding needy children.