Veteran producer who began in the early days of TV and later included a number of popular action features among his accomplishments. Neufeld began as a photographer in his teens; his snap of a returning WWII vet, "Sammy's Home", was widely syndicated and won an award from THE NEW YORK WORLD TELEGRAM-SUN. He first ventured into TV when he got a job with the Dumont Network (at the time one of the four major networks, alongside ABC, CBS and NBC). With a few years Neufeld had formed his own independent TV production company and personal management firm which over the years promoted such comedians as Don Adams, Gabe Kaplan and Don Knotts and musical talents including the Carpenters, Randy Newman and Jim Croce.
The indefatigable Neufeld also showed talent in showcasing performers, writing musical material for the likes of Rosemary Clooney, Sammy Davis Jr., Dorothy Loudon and the Ritz Brothers. He also wrote the theme song for the popular animated antics of the two crows showcased in "The Heckle and Jeckle Show".
Neufeld's career moved more into TV series production in the late 1970s, his products of the time including the enjoyably light-hearted if short-lived "The Captain and Tennille" (ABC, 1976-77), "The Kids from C.A.P.E.R." (NBC, 1976-77) and "Quark" (NBC, 1978). He also became a feature producer, and enjoyed immediate popular if hardly critical success with "The Omen" (1976) and its increasingly desultory sequels. Neufeld stayed with essentially frivolous fare (the TV-movie "Angel on My Shoulder", ABC 1980; the features "The Frisco Kid" 1979 and "Transylvania 6-5000" 1985) for a while, but as the 80s progressed tried his hand at more serious and ambitious material. His TV miniseries adaptation of "East of Eden" (ABC, 1981) was generally respected and his first major, big-budget production "No Way Out" (1987) was a highly intriguing if flawed thriller set amid federal corruption.
Neufeld's goal, however, was always to provide essentially escapist rather than satirical humor and action melodrama which updated genre conventions for contemporary tastes. His TV work has ranged from the sincere if short-lived family drama "The American Dream" (ABC, 1981) to the fantasy of "The Magic Planet" (ABC, 1983), the Hollywoodiana of "White Hot: The Mysterious Murder of Thelma Todd" (NBC, 1991) and the adventure of "Lightning Force" (syndicated, 1991-92). More of Neufeld's energies as the 90s progressed has been focused on expensive feature thrillers. His production company with mogul Marvin Davis was followed by one set up with Robert G. Rehme which arranged an exclusive producing deal with Paramount. "Flight of the Intruder" (1991) never got off the ground with paying customers or the critics, but Neufeld-Rehme's lavish thrillers, "The Hunt for Red October" (1990), "Patriot Games" (1992) and "Clear and Present Danger" (1994) were considerably better received.