Steve Broidy; Film Executive, Philanthropist

Steve Broidy, former head of Monogram Pictures and Allied Artists and the philanthropist and humanitarian who crafted the merger of Cedars of Lebanon and Mt. Sinai hospitals into Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, died Sunday.

Medical center spokesman Ron Wise said Broidy, the founding life chairman of Cedars-Sinai, was 86. The longtime Dodgers fan suffered a heart attack at Dodger Stadium while watching a ballgame. He was pronounced dead at County-USC Medical Center.

Born in Massachusetts and forced from college by the Depression, Broidy began in the film industry as a salesman. He worked his way up through the industry, moving to Los Angeles in 1940 and taking over Monogram and Allied Artists in 1945. In 1965, he formed his production firm, Motion Pictures International.

If thousands saw his pictures over the years, thousands more in this city benefitted from his fund-raising and organizational abilities.

In the 1960s, Broidy first decried the “duplication of medical effort” at Los Angeles’ two leading Jewish hospitals and led merger efforts, working long hours to raise the money to meld them into a single multipurpose, multimillion-dollar center. It took 15 years before the first patient was admitted April 3, 1976.

His charitable and professional efforts produced dozens of awards and honorary degrees, including “Pioneer of the Year” in 1959 from the Motion Picture Pioneers, the American Judaism Award from the United American Hebrew Assn. in 1963 (a first for someone from the West Coast), and that same year the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award (Oscar) from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

He served on the boards of Union Bank, the Motion Picture Academy, the Jewish Federation Council, the Salvation Army, Claremont Men’s College, Loyola Marymount University and others.

Survivors include his daughter, Eleanor Sattinger, sons Arthur and Steven Broidy, and six grandchildren.

Services will be private. Donations may be sent to the Steve Broidy Fund at Cedars-Sinai, PO Box 38750, Los Angeles 90048.