Frank Agrama

Directing·Jan 1, 1930·Egypt

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Farouk "Frank" Agrama (January 1, 1930 – April 25, 2023) was an Egyptian-born American film director and producer, writer and businessman. He was the founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Harmony Gold USA, Inc. In the 1970s and early 1980s, Agrama made a number of low-budget films which included The Godfather's Friend, Queen Kong and Dawn of the Mummy. He also began selling broadcast rights from Paramount Pictures, which he then sold to his friend, former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, to the latter's Mediaset broadcasting and multimedia company. In 1983, he secured a deal with the South African Broadcasting Corporation ("SABC") to distribute the controversial miniseries Shaka Zulu.[3] In the same year, he founded "Harmony Gold USA, Inc.". Despite Shaka Zulu's massive success worldwide, Agrama's skillful negotiations left SABC to actually lose money, while Harmony Gold kept most of the profit. Harmony Gold would eventually be known for producing films such as Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles, other Robotech animated works and the 1993 miniseries Heidi. According to the Los Angeles Times, prosecutors of Milan, on November 21, 2006, charged Agrama, along with former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and ten others, in a trial over tax fraud, embezzlement and false accounting to Mediaset. In fact, on October 26, 2012, Agrama was convicted after this lengthy trial, where Berlusconi, or his group, had allegedly bought USA film rights by him to the Mediaset media company at inflated prices. As his age was over 70 years, he was exempted from direct imprisonment and served no actual jail time. In 2013, Agrama and several others, including Mediaset Vice President Pier Silvio Berlusconi, son of Silvio, and the Hong Kong–based Wiltshire Group of Companies were under trial for tax evasion and embezzlement with the broadcasting rights firm, Mediatrade. In 2014, all parties were acquitted in the first instance due to expiring statute of limitations. A new appeals hearing took place on January 20, 2016. All charges against Agrama and five others were dropped, while Mediaset CEO Pier Silvio Berlusconi and President Fedele Confalonieri were sentenced to 14 months imprisonment. Agrama died on April 25, 2023, at the age of 93.

Film	Credit
Robotech: Love Live Alive2013 · Producer	Producer
The Big Goofy Secret of Hidden Pines2013 · Writer	Writer
The Zen Master2009 · Actor	Actor
Heart of Fear2006 · Writer	Writer
Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles2006 · Writer	Writer
The Lost World1992 · Producer	Producer
The Man Who Lived at the Ritz1988 · Producer	Producer
Dawn of the Mummy1981 · Director, Producer, Screenplay	Director, Producer, Screenplay
Queen Kong1976 · Director, Screenplay	Director, Screenplay
The Godfather's Friend1972 · Director, Writer, Producer	Director, Writer, Producer
You Can Do a Lot with 7 Women1972 · Producer, Writer	Producer, Writer
Women's Gang1970 · Director	Director
Gang of Women1969 · Director	Director
The Sin Path1969 · Director	Director
Wada'an ya Faqr1969 · Director, Writer, Producer	Director, Writer, Producer
The Game Of Luck1968 · Director, Writer	Director, Writer
Storm Over Petra1968 · Writer, Director	Writer, Director
Hamsat Al-Shaytan1968 · Producer	Producer
Fire of Love1968 · Director	Director
That Man from Teheran1967 · Writer, Director	Writer, Director
The Conquerors1967 · Director	Director
The Adventures of Filfila1966 · Director	Director
Bitter Grapes1965 · Writer, Director	Writer, Director
Boundless Love1960 · الصحفي مجدي	الصحفي مجدي
Love at the Circus1960 · حسان زوج وردة	حسان زوج وردة
The Silent Love1958 · جلال	جلال
Ayami Al Saaeda1958 · Adel, عادل	Adel, عادل
Maa Al Ayam1958 · Actor, سمير	Actor, سمير
A criminal on leave1958 · ننوس ابن خاة نازلي	ننوس ابن خاة نازلي
My One and Only1958 · Actor	Actor
A Voice from the Past1956 · Actor	Actor