Serbica Americana - Ilija Ika Panajotovic

Ilija "Ika" Panajotovic (25 April 1932 - 18 July 2001) was a Serbian film producer and tennis player.

Panajotovic, who made the junior semi-finals at Wimbledon in 1948, won back to back Yugoslavian Junior Championship titles in 1948 and 1949.

The Serbian competed in 12 Grand Slam tournaments during his career, all in the 1950s. He appeared at Wimbledon seven times and played in the French Championships on five occasions. From 1953 to 1959, Panajotovic participated in Wimbledon every year and made the third round in the 1958 Championships. He had a five set win over Akhtar Ali in the second round, before exiting to tournament with a loss to sixth seed Kurt Nielsen. In the men's doubles he also had success, with Panajotovic and his partner Ivko Plecevic reaching the quarter-finals.

Panajotovic was the Yugoslavian national champion in 1958 and 1959.

In Davis Cup tennis, Panajotovic took part in 11 ties, from 1953 to 1960. One of his three singles wins was over Denmark's Kurt Nielsen, in 1960. He also won two doubles rubbers, one partnering Ivko Plecevic, against Egypt, the other with Boro Jovanović as his partner, against Denmark.

An injury, sustained in a car accident, ended his tennis career.

In 1957, Panajotovic graduated from the University of Belgrade's Law School and has worked in Belgrade as an attorney over the next five years. During this time he also found work as a newspaper journalist. He then moved to Los Angeles and earned a BA in political science from UCLA.

Panajotovic was the producer of several films, including Day of the Assassin, Hell River, and Missile X – Geheimauftrag Neutronenbombe. He also served as the Yugoslavian coordinator for the Kirk Douglas film Scalawag, with was shot in his native country.

He was a member of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, Hollywood Foreign Press Association and Motion Picture Academy.

On 18 July 2001, Panajotovic died of a cardiac arrest, during surgery.

MEMBERSHIP:

Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences (AMPAS)
American Film Marketing Association (AFMA)
Arbitration Association of America (AAA)
Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA)
American Society of Composers and Publishers (ASCAP)

FILMS:

1966 Associate Producer Brown Eye, Evil Eye (Hugh Griffith)
1967 Producer Bomb at 10:10 (George Montgomery, Phil Brown)
1968 Associate Producer Curse of the Faithful Wife (Alan Hale)
1969 Producer-Writer for Walter Reade Organization Operation Cross Eagles (Richard Conte, Rory Calhoun)
1970 Associate Producer Togetherness (George Hamilton, Peter Lawford)
1972 U.S. Yugoslav Coordinator Skalawag (Kirk Douglas, Mark Lester)
1973 Producer-Writer Last Train to Berlin (Ty Hardin, Stathis Giallelis)
1977 Producer Hell River (Rod Taylor, Adam West, Xenia Gratsos)
1978 Producer Cruise Missile (Peter Graves, Curt Jurgens, Michael Dante, John Carradine)
1981 Producer Day of the Assassin (Chuck Connors, Glenn Ford, Henry Silva, Richard Roundree)
1986 Producer Dirty Rebel (Roy McNeil, Burt Starger)
1988 Producer-Writer of US-USSR coproduction Wildwind (Jay North, George Montgomery, Albert Paulsen)
1989 Producer-Co-Writer Massacre at Noon (Drago Gidra, Mich Baloh)
1996 Director-Producer-Writer Last Nazi at Large (Gary Swanson, Albert Paulsen)