Lawrence Turman, who as a novice movie producer in 1963 read about a novel by a largely unknown writer named Charles Webb, took a $1,000 option on it, and set in motion the making of the landmark film “The Graduate,” died July 1 at his home in Los Angeles. He was 96.

Mr. Turman had producing or executive producing credits on more than 40 feature films and television movies, but it was “The Graduate” that made his career, The New York Times said.

Once he owned the rights, it took years to get the film made. He submitted the idea to all the studios, and none liked it, he said. Finally Joseph E. Levine of Embassy Pictures, who at the time was known as “king of the schlockmeisters,” took it on. “The Graduate” turned out to be the top-grossing film of 1967. “We had lines around the block,” Mr. Turman wrote in his book, So You Want To Be A Producer. “And in those lines were some studio executives who had originally turned the picture down.”