Russell S. Doughten Jr.

Born and raised in Iowa, Russell S. Doughten Jr. was interested in dramatics as a boy and yet never looked upon it as a profession. But while attending Drake University on an athletic scholarship, his interest in dramatics grew and, following a World War II Navy stint, he returned to Drake to study acting and directing. Doughten later attended the Yale Graduate School of Drama, where he wrote, directed and acted. After Yale, Doughten sent his résumé to companies that made religious movies and was invited to join Good News Productions, a filmmaking outfit operating out of the small village they owned in bucolic Chester Springs, Pennsylvania. When Good News formed a secular counterpart (Valley Forge Films), Doughten produced the first of their features, 1958's The Blob (1958). Doughten worked in Hollywood for several years but eventually returned to Iowa and founded Heartland Productions and Mark IV Pictures, under whose banners he has produced dozens of feature-length Christian movies (including an "end of days" series based on Biblical prophecies). When Heartland and Mark IV ended in the mid-90s, Doughten formed Russ Doughten Films, Inc. (www.rdfilms.com), to carry on the tradition.