Brad Grey

Brad Alan Grey (December 29, 1957 – May 14, 2017) was an American television and film producer. He co-founded the Brillstein-Grey Entertainment agency, and afterwards became the chairman and CEO of Paramount Pictures, a position he held from 2005[1] until 2017. Grey graduated from the State University of New York at Buffalo School of Management. Under Grey's leadership, Paramount finished No. 1 in global market share in 2011 and No. 2 domestically in 2008, 2009, and 2010, despite releasing significantly fewer films than its competitors.[2][3] He also produced eight out of Paramount's 10 top-grossing pictures of all time after having succeeded Sherry Lansing in 2005.[4]

Brad Grey
Brad Grey (left) with Garry Shandling (center) at the 1987 Primetime Emmy Awards
Born	Brad Alan Grey December 29, 1957 New York City, New York, U.S.
Died	May 14, 2017 (aged 59) Holmby Hills, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Alma mater	State University of New York at Buffalo
Occupation	Former Chairman and CEO of Paramount Pictures
Years active	1984–2017
Spouse(s)	Jill Gutterson ​ ​ (m. 1982; div. 2007)​ Cassandra Huysentruyt ​ ​ (m. 2011)​
Children	4

Early life

Grey was born to a Jewish family in the Bronx,[5][6][7] the youngest child of a garment district salesman. He majored in business and communications at the University at Buffalo.[8] While attending the university, he became a gofer for a young Harvey Weinstein, who was then a concert promoter. The first show Grey produced (at age 20) was a concert by Frank Sinatra at Buffalo's Buffalo Memorial Auditorium in 1978. Grey traveled to Manhattan on weekends to look for young comics at The Improv. Grey brought comedian Bob Saget to New York, thus making Saget his first client.[9]

Career

Talent Agent and Producer

In 1984, Grey met talent manager Bernie Brillstein in San Francisco, California at a television convention. Having convinced Brillstein that he could deliver fresh talent, he was taken on as a partner and the Bernie Brillstein Company was re-christened Brillstein-Grey Entertainment.[10] Grey began producing for television in 1986 with the Showtime hit, It's Garry Shandling's Show. In the late 1990s, Shandling sued Grey for breach of duties and related claims. Shandling complained that his TV show lost its best writers and producers when Brad Grey got them deals to do other projects, and that Grey commissioned these other deals, while Shandling did not benefit from them. Grey denied the allegations and countersued, saying the comedian breached his contract on The Larry Sanders Show by failing to produce some episodes and indiscriminately dismissing writers, among other actions.[11] Both suits were settled avoiding a trial.[12] Shandling did testify about Grey during the 2008 trial of private investigator Anthony Pellicano who worked on Grey's defense team.[13][14] The value of the settlement to Shandling was later disputed by attorneys as being either $4 million or $10 million.[15][16]

In 1996, Brillstein sold his shares of the Brillstein-Grey company to Grey, giving Grey full rein over operations; the company's television unit was subsequently rechristened "Brad Grey Television". Grey produced shows such as Emmy Award-winning The Sopranos and The Wayne Brady Show. Other shows developed in the 1990s under the Brillstein-Grey banner included Good Sports, The Larry Sanders Show, Mr. Show, Real Time with Bill Maher, The Sopranos, NewsRadio, and Just Shoot Me! Grey also ventured into film by producing the Adam Sandler hit, Happy Gilmore.

In 1996, actress Linda Doucett alleged that Brad Grey and Garry Shandling fired her from The Larry Sanders Show after her personal relationship with Shandling ended.[17] Doucett reportedly received a $1 million settlement in this matter in 1997.

In July 2000 - on the day of Scary Movie’s opening - Grey and Brillstein-Grey were sued by Bo Zenga and his Boz Productions in what became known as the ‘Scary’ suit.[18] Zenga, at the time an unknown bit-part actor [19] “claimed he had an oral agreement with Grey’s management firm Brillstein-Grey Entertainment, giving him equal profits on the film”.[18] ‘Scary Movie’ went on to make $278m worldwide.[20]

The pre-trial discovery process “revealed that major parts of Zenga’s resume were fabricated. Brillstein-Grey said in a court filing that Zenga presented himself as a successful investment banker who became a prize-winning screenwriter to satisfy his creative urges.” [18] “Far from being a successful investment banker, Zenga once filed for personal bankruptcy” [18] and “according to court papers, the only writing award he won was in a phony contest he set up himself.” [18] After denying under oath that he knew who owned the company that ran the contest, Bo Zenga recanted a day later, admitting his ownership of the company and “saying he had been "overmedicated.”” [21] When questioned about “an accusation from his former business partner that he coerced her to lie for him” [18] Zenga “in a highly unusual move for a plaintiff in a film-profits case — asserted his Fifth Amendment right not to answer hundreds of questions.” [18] Bo Zenga's suit was thrown out of court for lack of evidence. L.A. Superior Court Judge Robert O’Brien “noted it was only the second time in all his years on the bench that he had granted a non-suit and taken a case away from a jury.” [18]

In 2002, Grey formed Plan B with Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston, with a first-look deal at Warner Bros. The company produced two films for Warner Bros: Tim Burton's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory with Johnny Depp, and Martin Scorsese's The Departed, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, and Jack Nicholson. After Pitt and Aniston separated, Grey and Pitt moved the company to Paramount Pictures in 2005.[22]

In May 2006 Bo Zenga “filed a new suit against Grey personally," [23] in which he charged Grey with using notorious private investigator Anthony Pellicano to illegally wiretap and conduct illegal background checks on Zenga during the original case. Grey denied any knowledge, testifying that "his dealings with Pellicano “all came through Bert Fields” and that “in every instance” Grey had never been given updates on the investigations by Pellicano." [24] The suit was “dismissed, due to Zenga having lied and to statute of limitations issues.“ [25] Bo Zenga's appeal continued after Grey's death, until that too was dismissed in December 2017.

On 17 October 2017, writer Janis Hirsch alleged that her response to workplace sexual harassment resulted in a meeting with the late Brad Grey, during which he pressured her to quit her job during the late 1980s.[26]

Paramount Pictures CEO

Brad was named chief executive officer of Paramount Pictures Corporation in 2005. In his position, Brad was responsible for overseeing all feature film development and production for films distributed by Paramount Pictures Corporation including Paramount Pictures, Paramount Vantage, Paramount Classics, Paramount Insurge, MTV Films and Nickelodeon Movies.[27] He was also responsible for the worldwide business operations for Paramount Pictures International, Paramount Famous Productions, Paramount Home Media Distribution, Paramount Animation, Studio Group and Worldwide Television Distribution.[28]

Among the commercial and critical hit films Paramount produced and/or distributed during Brad's tenure were the Transformers, Paranormal Activity, and Iron Man franchises, Star Trek, How to Train Your Dragon, Shrek the Third, Mission: Impossible III, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, An Inconvenient Truth, There Will Be Blood, No Country for Old Men, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Babel, Shutter Island, Up in the Air, The Fighter, True Grit, The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn, and Hugo.

During his time as chairman and CEO of Paramount, the studio's films were nominated for dozens of Academy Awards, including 20 in 2011[29] and 18 in 2012.[30]

After arriving at Paramount in 2005, Chairman and CEO Grey was credited with leading a return to fortune at the box office.[31] He oversaw the creation and revitalization of several major franchises, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Star Trek, and Paranormal Activity, which was made for $15,000 and generated $192 million at the global box office.[3] Paranormal Activity 2 grossed $177 million worldwide, and the third installment in the franchise collected $205.7 million worldwide in 2011.[32] A fourth installment was released in October 2012. The studio's 2011 results included Transformers: Dark of the Moon, which grossed more than $1.1 billion worldwide, and Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, whose $694 million global box office tally makes it the most successful entry in that franchise.[33][34] Paramount's 2012 slate included The Dictator which earned $179 million on a $65 million budget.[2][35]

During this period, Paramount forged productive relationships with top-tier filmmakers and talent including J. J. Abrams, Michael Bay and Martin Scorsese.[36]

In 2011, based on the success of Rango, the studio's first original, computer-animated release, Grey oversaw the launch of a new animation division, Paramount Animation.[37]

The 2010 Paramount slate achieved much success with Shutter Island and True Grit reaching the biggest box office totals in the storied careers of Martin Scorsese and the Coen brothers, respectively. In addition, during Grey's tenure, Paramount launched its own worldwide releasing arm, Paramount Pictures International, and has released acclaimed films such as An Inconvenient Truth, Up in the Air and There Will Be Blood. The success of Paranormal Activity also led to the creation of a low-budget releasing label Insurge Pictures, which released Justin Bieber: Never Say Never, which collected nearly $100 million in worldwide box office revenue.[38]

Grey was ousted from Paramount Pictures shortly before his death, a result of a power struggle between his backers and the family of majority owner Sumner Redstone, along with a series of flops that cost the studio $450 million in losses.[39]

Death

Grey died on May 14, 2017 from cancer at his Holmby Hills home in Los Angeles, California.[40] He was 59.[41][42]

Philanthropy

Grey received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from SUNY during a visit to Buffalo and UB in 2003.[43] Grey's Board appointments included:

• UCLA's Executive Board for the Medical Sciences[44]
• USC School of Cinema-Television Board of Councilors[45]
• Board of Directors for Project A.L.S.[46]
• NYU's Tisch School of the Arts[47]
• Los Angeles County Museum of Art[48]

Filmography

He was a producer in all films unless otherwise noted.

Film

Year	Film	Credit	Notes
1990	Opportunity Knocks	Executive producer
1996	Happy Gilmore	Executive producer
	The Cable Guy	Executive producer
	Bulletproof	Executive producer
1998	The Replacement Killers
	The Wedding Singer	Executive producer
	Dirty Work	Executive producer
2000	What Planet Are You From?	Executive producer
	Screwed	Executive producer
	Scary Movie	Executive producer
2002	City by the Sea
2003	View from the Top
2005	Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
2006	The Departed
	Running with Scissors
2007	The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford	Executive producer	Final film as a producer

As writer

Year	Film
1981	The Burning

Miscellaneous crew

Year	Film	Notes
1981	The Burning	Production consultant

Thanks

Year	Film	Role	Notes
2006	Babel	The director wishes to thank
2008	Taste of Flesh	Very special thanks	Direct-to-video
2010	I'm Still Here	Special thanks
TBA	The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

Television

Year	Title	Credit	Notes
1984	Garry Shandling: Alone in Vegas		Television special
1986	The Garry Shandling Show: 25th Anniversary Special	Executive producer	Television special
1988	Mr. Miller Goes to Washington Starring Dennis Miller	Executive producer	Television special
	The Boys	Executive producer
1989	The 13th Annual Young Comedians Special	Executive producer	Television special
1990	Normal Life	Executive producer
	Don't Try This at Home!	Executive producer	Television film
	Dennis Miller: Black and White	Executive producer	Television special
	Bob Saget: In the Dream State	Executive producer	Television special
1986−90	It's Garry Shandling's Show	Executive producer
1991	Good Sports	Executive producer
1992	The Please Watch the Jon Lovitz Special	Executive producer	Television special
	The 15th Annual Young Comedians Special	Executive producer	Television special
1993	Live from Washington D.C.: They Shoot HBO Specials, Don't They?	Executive producer	Television special
1995	Dana Carvey: Critics' Choice	Executive producer	Television special
1996	For Hope	Executive producer	Television film
	Mr. Show with Bob and David: Fantastic Newness	Executive producer	Television short
1995−97	The Jeff Foxworthy Show	Executive producer
	Mr. Show with Bob and David	Executive producer
	The Naked Truth	Executive producer
1997	C-16: FBI	Executive producer
1997−98	Alright Already	Executive producer
1992−98	The Larry Sanders Show	Executive producer
1998	Mr. Show and the Incredible, Fantastical News Report	Executive producer	Television short
	Applewood 911	Executive producer	Television film
1995−99	NewsRadio	Executive producer
2000	Sammy	Executive producer
1996−2002	The Steve Harvey Show	Executive producer
	Politically Incorrect	Executive producer
2002	In Memoriam: New York City	Executive producer	Documentary
	Father Lefty	Executive producer	Television film
2001−02	Pasadena	Executive producer
2003	My Big Fat Greek Life	Executive producer
	Married to the Kellys	Executive producer
	The Lyon's Den	Executive producer
	Titletown	Executive producer	Television film
1997−2003	Just Shoot Me!	Executive producer
2004	Three Sisters: Searching for a Cure	Executive producer	Documentary
2005	Jake in Progress	Executive producer
	East of Normal, West of Weird	Executive producer	Television film
2004−06	Cracking Up	Executive producer
1999−2007	The Sopranos	Executive producer
2006−19	Real Time with Bill Maher	Executive producer

Awards

Award	Year	Work	Category	Ref.
Emmy	2004	The Sopranos	Outstanding Drama Series	[49]
Emmy	2007	The Sopranos	Outstanding Drama Series	[49]
Peabody	1993	The Larry Sanders Show		[50]
Peabody	1998	The Larry Sanders Show		[51]
Peabody	1999	The Sopranos		[52]
Peabody	2000	The Sopranos		[53]
PGA	2000	The Sopranos		[54]
PGA	2005	The Sopranos	Norman Felton Producer of the Year – Episodic	[54]
PGA	2008	The Sopranos	Norman Felton Producer of the Year – Episodic	[54]

References

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2. Finke, Nikki (2012-01-02). "Paramount Topples Warner Bros For #1 In 2011 Market Share With Record $5.17B Worldwide, Jan 2012". Deadline.com. Retrieved 2012-02-10.
3. Cieply, Michael (2009-12-13). "New York Times, Dec 2009". Nytimes.com. Retrieved 2011-05-08.
4. Biskind, Peter (2012-06-11). "Vanity Fair, July 2012". VanityFair.com. Retrieved 2012-07-19.
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6. Jewish Journal: "The Heroes of Jewish Comedy" by Tom Teicholz July 3, 2003
7. Brook, Vincent. From Shtetl to Stardom: Jews and Hollywood: Chapter 1: Still an Empire of Their Own: How Jews Remain Atop a Reinvented Hollywood. Purdue University Press. p. 15.
8. O'Shei, Tim (15 May 2017). "Brad Grey, UB grad-turned-Hollywood mogul, dies at 59". The Buffalo News. Retrieved 18 May 2017.
9. "Yahoo! Movies". Movies.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2011-05-08.
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13. Abramowitz, Rachel (2008-03-17). "LA Times March 17, 2008". Articles.latimes.com. Retrieved 2011-05-08.
14. Halbfinger, David M. (2008-03-14). "New York Times March, 2008". Los Angeles (Calif): Nytimes.com. Retrieved 2011-05-08.
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29. "Reuters Jan 25th, 2011". 2011-01-25.
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31. Lauria, Peter (2010-02-12). "New York Post, February 2010". Nypost.com.com. Retrieved 2011-06-13.
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38. "Box Office Mojo".
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54. "PGA Award Winners 1990-2010". Producers Guild of America. Retrieved May 15, 2017.

External links

• Brad Grey at IMDb
• Brad Grey on Charlie Rose