Studio head Frank Capra Jr., producer and son of 'It's A Wonderful Life' director, dies

Frank Capra Jr., a producer who helped build a major television and movie studio and whose father directed the Christmas classic "It's A Wonderful Life," has died. He was 73.

Capra Jr. died Wednesday night at a hospital in Philadelphia, said Bill Vassar, the executive vice president of Wilmington-based EUE Screen Gems Studios, of which Capra was president. Capra died after a long fight with prostate cancer, Vassar said.

"With his Hollywood pedigree and extensive experience as a producer, Frank was the perfect ambassador to Hollywood," Chris Cooney, chief operating officer of EUE Screen Gems, said in a statement. "He will be missed …