Menahem GolanBirth Chart

Menahem Golan, born Menachem Globus, was an Israeli producer, screenwriter and filmmaker whose career made an impact on both national and international cinema. After studying in London and New York and gaining early experience in theatre and as an assistant in production, he rose to prominence in the 1970s with films such as Operation Thunderbolt (Mivtsa Yonatan, 1977), which dealt with the Entebbe rescue and earned him critical recognition and a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. In the 1980s Golan became a central figure in commercial cinema alongside his cousin Yoram Globus, running The Cannon Group. The company became known for low- to mid-budget production in the United States, specializing in genre films and popular-entertainment titles — from action stars like Sylvester Stallone and Chuck Norris to comic-book adaptations and franchises such as Masters of the Universe and Superman IV. Over the course of his life he produced more than 200 films and directed dozens, won important national awards and left an ambiguous legacy: on one hand, he innovated in exporting Israeli cinema and invigorated its industrial capacity; on the other, he became noted for projects criticized by reviewers and for commercial failures that marked Cannon’s history. Golan also worked under the pseudonym Joseph Goldman as a screenwriter and remained active in the industry into the 1990s.