Stark's background as a literary and theatrical agent prepared him to produce some of the most profitable films of the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, such as The World of Suzie Wong (1960), West Side Story (1961), The Misfits (1961), Lolita (1962), The Night of the Iguana (1964), Reflections in a Golden Eye (1967), Funny Girl (1968), The Owl and the Pussycat (1970), The Goodbye Girl (1977), The Toy (1982), Annie (1982), and Steel Magnolias (1989).

Additionally, Stark's 18-year partnership with playwright Neil Simon yielded 11 films between the duo, including The Goodbye Girl (1977) and The Sunshine Boys (1975).

[citation needed] At Rutgers, Stark continued to take a strong interest in literature (one of his favorite classes was on Shakespeare) but he did not know how to pursue it occupationally.

The World of Suzie Wong, which originally cast the lead from the Broadway production, France Nuyen, went on to star and mark the discovery of Chinese actress Nancy Kwan.

Interpersonal complications with France Nuyen interfered with shooting, and Stark replaced her with newcomer Nancy Kwan, who was later nominated for a Golden Globe Best Actress in the role.

The company went on to produce many notable films from the 1970s to the early 2000s, including The Owl and the Pussycat (1970), The Way We Were (1973), Murder By Death (1976), The Goodbye Girl (1977), Seems Like Old Times (1980), Annie (1982), and Steel Magnolias (1989).

After a long courtship with the then unknown, Stark and Jerome Robbins (the production supervisor and director of the Broadway show) decided to cast her as their lead.

After an arduous rehearsal period filled with revisions and rewrites, Funny Girl opened to rave reviews on Broadway and became a critical and commercial success.

Following the Broadway show, Stark formed Rastar Productions to finance the film version of Funny Girl due to foiled deals with Columbia and Paramount Pictures.

Stark discussed the possibility with producer David Merrick, who suggested Jule Styne and Stephen Sondheim compose the score.

Styne was happy with the results and the two men completed the rest of the score, then flew to Los Angeles to play it for Stark, Robbins, and Bancroft, who was at odds with Merrill because of an earlier personal conflict.

With Bancroft out of the picture, Eydie Gormé was considered, but she agreed to play Brice only if her husband Steve Lawrence was cast as Nicky Arnstein.

[5] Robbins had an argument with Lennart and told Stark he wanted her replaced because he thought she was not capable of adapting her screenplay into a viable book for a stage musical.

[5] A close friend and creative confidant of John Huston, Stark produced four highly successful films with the visionary director.

Stark and Huston formed a close bond while shooting Tennessee Williams' The Night of The Iguana (1964) starring Richard Burton and Ava Gardner on-location in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

Following their success, Huston and Stark went on to create Reflections in a Golden Eye (1967), based on the 1941 novel by author Carson McCullers and starring Marlon Brando and Elizabeth Taylor, Fat City (1972), and the commercially successful 1982 adaption of Annie the musical starring Albert Finney, Carol Burnett, Ann Reinking, Tim Curry, Bernadette Peters, Geoffrey Holder, Edward Herrmann, and Aileen Quinn in her film debut.

Over an 18-year period Stark produced eleven scripts by acclaimed playwright Neil Simon, including The Sunshine Boys (1975), for which George Burns won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor; Murder by Death (1976), featuring an eclectic cast of Eileen Brennan, Truman Capote, James Coco, Peter Falk, Alec Guinness, Elsa Lanchester, David Niven, Peter Sellers, and Maggie Smith; The Goodbye Girl (1977) with Richard Dreyfuss and Marsha Mason, for which Dreyfus won the Academy Award for Best Actor; and California Suite (1978), which won Maggie Smith the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

Others in the incredibly productive Neil Simon/ Rastar collaboration included Seems Like Old Times (1980), with Goldie Hawn and Chevy Chase; The Cheap Detective, starring Peter Falk, and Chapter Two with James Caan and Marsha Mason.

In 1980, Stark's body of work was officially recognized when he received the prestigious Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award, a rare honor given by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for lifetime achievement in film.

Ray and his wife Frances owned Rancho Corral de Quati, a 300-acre (1.2 km²) ranch in Los Olivos, California and were breeders of Thoroughbred racehorses.

He amassed a broad collection of outdoor sculptures by artist and close friend Henry Moore, and his walls were adorned with pieces by Monet, Picasso, and Kandinsky.

[9][10] The Ray Stark Family Theatre, equipped for 3D presentation, is one of three situated in the University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts Complex, completed in 2010.