Frank Yablans, the outspoken filmmaker who later served as president of Paramount Pictures, passed away in his Los Angeles home Thursday.

He was 79.

He was Paramount's president when the first two Godfather films hit cinemas.

He also served as the producer and a writer of Mommie Dearest and North Dallas Forty.

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Yablan's son, Edward, confirmed his father's death although he did not specify the actual cause of his death.

New York Times narrated that Yablans was one of those studio executives who rose from "street-level movie jobs to positions of power."

He was born in New York City on Aug. 27, 1935, to a taxi driver father.

After a stint with the Army, he held jobs at Warner Bros., Walt Disney and Filmways before becoming a salesman on the theater circuit until becoming its marketing executive.

Yablans rose as Paramount's top guy after Love Story became a box office hit. He was offered the presidency in 1971.

Yablans managed to hold his own between the tough-minded Charles G. Bluhdorn, Gulf & Western's (owner of Paramount) CEO,  and Robert Evans, president of productions, whose strong connections in Hollywood was renowned.

With Yablan on top, Paramount released some of its most critically acclaimed picstures, including the Godfather trilogy, Serpico" and Paper Moon. With the failure of The Parallax View, though, Yablans stepped down in 1975.

He then served as producer, thereafter, with such populist films as Silver Streak, The Fury, The Other Side of Midnight and Monsignor to his credit.

In 1983, he was appointed top film executive at MGM/UA, which was then controlled by Kirk Kerkorian. He tried to revive MGM's sagging fortunes then by striking deals with Dino De Laurentiis Elliott Kastner, among others.  

Yablans is survived by his children, Edward, Robert, and Sharon, his brother, Irwin, and his companion, Nadia Pandolfo

He was married twice, first to Ruth Edelstein and then to writer Tracie Hotchner. Both ended in divorce.

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