Samuel Goldwyn Jr., Hollywood Scion

Samuel Goldwyn Jr., an urbane, soft-spoken scion of a Hollywood dynasty who became an influential movie executive in his own right, supporting promising young directors and advancing the independent film movement, died here on Friday. He was 88. A ravenous book reader, possessing intellectual curiosity in a business not known for it, Mr. Goldwyn was an early champion of stylized, cerebral films that most major studios thought would never sell a ticket. His indie operation, the Samuel Goldwyn Company, founded in 1979, helped create a business model — low production costs, guerrilla marketing — that allowed art-house movies to grow into a powerful cultural and economic force.