Don Simpson

Donald Clarence Simpson (October 29, 1943 – January 19, 1996) was an American film producer, screenwriter, and actor. Simpson and his producing partner Jerry Bruckheimer produced such hit films as Flashdance (1983), Beverly Hills Cop (1984), Top Gun (1986), and The Rock (1996). Their films earned $3 billion worldwide.[1]

Don Simpson
Born	Donald Clarence Simpson October 29, 1943 Seattle, Washington, U.S.
Died	January 19, 1996 (aged 52) Bel Air, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Cause of death	Drug-related heart failure
Nationality	American
Other names	Donald C. Simpson
Education	West Anchorage High School
Alma mater	University of Oregon, B.S. 1967
Occupation	Film producer screenwriter actor
Years active	1976–1996

Early life

Simpson was born in Seattle, Washington, the son of June Hazel (née Clark), a housewife, and Russell J. Simpson, a mechanic at Boeing at the time of his birth.[2] He grew up in Juneau, Alaska. His parents were strict Baptists and Simpson would go to church four to five times a week.[3] He would call himself a "straight-A Bible student.[4] He attended West Anchorage High School and later majored in English at the University of Oregon. Upon graduation, Simpson worked as a ski instructor in Utah. He later moved to San Francisco where he worked for a theatrical advertising agency and did public relations for the First International Erotic Film Festival.[5]

Career

In the early 1970s, Simpson moved to Los Angeles and got a job marketing exploitation films for Warner Bros in 1971, handling distribution marketing for the movies Woodstock and A Clockwork Orange. In 1973, Simpson got a job at Paramount Pictures. While there, he co-wrote the 1976 film Cannonball, in which he also had a small role. By 1977, he was named vice-president of production at Paramount, and president in 1981.[6][5] He was fired at Paramount in 1982 after passing out during a studio meeting due to drug use. He was working on 8 productions at once, and would regularly throw a tantrum while in production.[6]

Soon after, he forged a partnership with fellow producer Jerry Bruckheimer.[7][8] The two would go on to produce some of the most financially successful films of the 1980s: Flashdance (1983, terrible reviews but excellent sales[6]), Beverly Hills Cop (1984), Top Gun (1986) and Beverly Hills Cop II (1987). In 1985 and again in 1988, he and Bruckheimer were named Producers of the Year by the National Association of Theatre Owners.

In 1990, Simpson and Bruckheimer signed a five-year deal with Paramount worth a reported $300 million. The deal would prove to be short lived. Later that year, the Simpson/Bruckheimer-produced Days of Thunder starring Tom Cruise was released. The auto racing film received mixed reviews and grossed $158 million (on a $60 million budget). While a financial success, it did not match the success of Simpson and Bruckheimer's previous films. Simpson and Bruckheimer blamed Paramount for the film's lackluster box-office returns, saying the studio rushed its planning and release. Paramount blamed the film's performance on Simpson and Bruckheimer's overspending. The duo parted with Paramount shortly thereafter.[9][10]

In 1991, the two signed with Disney. Their first film for Disney, The Ref (1994), was a financial flop. Their next films, Dangerous Minds, Crimson Tide, and Bad Boys (distributed by Columbia Pictures rather than Disney), all released in 1995, brought them back to success.[9]

Personal life

Simpson never married, and lived alone in a mansion in Coldwater Canyon in Beverly Hills.[6]

In the 1970s, Simpson took classes to join the Church of Scientology, but quit after spending $25,000 and not seeing any significant personal improvements.[11] During the shooting of Days of Thunder, Simpson threw David Miscavige off the production because he refused to pay for a more expensive Scientology-patented sound recording device.[12]

Personality

Simpson was known for his brash personality, provocative comments and questionable claims. Of director Steven Spielberg, Simpson said, "I'm surprised for a smart Jew he's as white-bread as he is". He later said, "Any person who suggested David Lynch for Dune should have every part of their anatomy examined."[6] He said several times that, as a producer, "our obligation is to make money".[13] Simpson worked out everyday with special equipment provided by Arnold Schwarzenegger.[14]

Simpson claimed he discovered Michael Mann, launched Debra Winger's career and cast Richard Gere for American Gigolo. He also claimed he created the concept for Beverly Hills Cop, which Michael Eisner denied.[6] In the movie industry, professionals working with Simpson would refer to the "Don Simpson Discount Factor" (DSDF, coined by Jeff Katzenberg), a way to tone down his exaggerations.[6]

Due to their films' success, Simpson and Bruckheimer became very rich. They often dressed in similar clothing, choosing black as their signature color. Simpson would wear black Levi 501 jeans only before their first wash and then throw them away. He frequented the Canyon Ranch in Arizona for occasional workouts and tanning. Though Simpson claimed he never underwent any plastic surgery procedures,[3] there are reports that he underwent ten different plastic surgeries between 1988 and 1994, including a penis-enlargement procedure. Those surgeries eventually led to infection and many reversal procedures.[15]

As Simpson and Bruckheimer's success grew, so did Simpson's reputation as a "party animal". He said that "next to eating and having sex, making movies is the best thing in the world".[6] Simpson's debaucherous lifestyle was well-known in Hollywood and has been documented in a number of sources. He was a fixture on the "Hollywood cocaine-party" circuit throughout the 1970s and '80s, and in his later years became known for throwing lavish all-night parties at his mansion.[16] An entire chapter of the book You'll Never Make Love in This Town Again (which describes four prostitutes' stories about their sexual encounters with Hollywood celebrities) discusses his frequent sex parties and preference for S & M.[17] He also gave himself testosterone shots to boost his sex drive. According to the call girl Alexandra Datig, Simpson auditioned struggling actresses for his movies, convinced them to have sex with him, and secretly filmed their sex acts.[15]

Drug addiction

Simpson had been using cocaine since the 1980s, but increased his usage over the years. The excessive spending (in both films and his personal life) and erratic mood swings caused by his drug use were well known in Hollywood by the 1990s.[9] In a 1994 interview with The New York Times, Simpson tried to downplay his reputation and claimed that while he had done drugs in the past, he had stopped. He claimed that his only addiction at the time was to food.[4] According to screenwriter James Toback, Simpson’s drug use never stopped, and prompted David Geffen and Jeffrey Katzenberg to stage an intervention to get Simpson to go to rehab.[9]

Simpson refused to admit himself into a traditional rehab facility. In 1995, he employed Dr. Stephen Ammerman to help him with his addiction. Ammerman, who had a history of drug abuse himself, believed that in order for Simpson to quit drugs, he had to use other drugs to combat the painful withdrawal symptoms. Ammerman designed what has been called a "dangerously unorthodox" detox program, which included several medications (including morphine) for Simpson to take at home.[18] On August 15, 1995, Ammerman was found dead in the shower of the pool house on Simpson's estate.[19] It was later determined that Ammerman died of an accidental overdose of cocaine, Valium, venlafaxine, and morphine.[20]

Frustrated with Simpson's escalating drug use and declining work, Bruckheimer terminated their partnership in December 1995. The two agreed to finish work on The Rock, which was already in production.[21] Simpson died before production was completed and the film is dedicated to his memory.[22]

Death

On January 19, 1996, Simpson was found dead in the bathroom of his Bel Air, Los Angeles home.[23] His death was initially attributed to "natural causes". An autopsy and toxicology report later determined that Simpson had died of heart failure caused by combined drug intoxication (cocaine and prescription medications).[24] At the time of his death, there were 21 different drugs in his system, including antidepressants, stimulants, sedatives, and tranquilizers.[15] In August 1996, investigative reporter Chuck Philips of the Los Angeles Times revealed that Simpson had been obtaining large quantities of prescription drugs from 15 different doctors, and that police found 2,200 prescription pills lined up in alphabetical order in his bedroom closet.[18][25][26]

A 1998 book by journalist Charles Fleming reported that Simpson's prescription drug expenses totaled more than $60,000 a month at the time of his death. He called Simpson "a supercharged simple-minded creature, an Aesop's fable on crystal meth."[27][13]

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1975	Aloha, Bobby and Rose	–	Writer, uncredited
1976	Cannonball	Assistant District Attorney	Writer Credited as Donald C. Simpson
1983	Flashdance	–	Producer
1984	Beverly Hills Cop	–	Producer
	Thief of Hearts	–	Producer
1986	Top Gun	–	Producer
1987	Beverly Hills Cop II	–	Producer
1990	Days of Thunder	Aldo Bennedetti	Producer
1994	The Ref	–	Executive producer
1995	Bad Boys	–	Producer
	Crimson Tide	–	Producer
	Dangerous Minds	–	Producer
1996	The Rock	–	Producer

References

1. "Disney Extends Bruckheimer Deal". latimes.com. May 2, 1997. Retrieved December 2, 2012.
2. "Don Simpson". lukeford.net.
3. Richard Natale (June 6, 1993). "Don and Jerry's Blue Period : They Were the Ultimate Hollywood Success Story. But in Tinseltown, Their Failure Was an Even Better Yarn". Latimes.com.
4. Bernard Weinraub (March 14, 1994). "Simpson and Bruckheimer, Part 2". nytimes.com.
5. Thomson, David (April 7, 1996). "I'm Don Simpson; And You're Not". independent.co.uk. Retrieved October 27, 2009.
6. Lynn Hirschberg (September 1, 1985). "Gone Hollywood". Esquire.com.
7. "Don Simpson Bio". FilmStar.
8. Ascher-Walsh, Rebecca (February 22, 1996). "Don Simpson passes away". ew.com. p. 1. Retrieved December 2, 2012.
9. Ascher-Walsh, Rebecca (February 22, 1996). "Don Simpson passes away". ew.com. p. 2. Retrieved December 2, 2012.
10. Citron, Alan (January 18, 1991). "'Top Gun' Producers, Disney Sign Deal". latimes.com. Retrieved December 2, 2012.
11. Kirsten Acuna (July 16, 2012). "13 Former Celebrity Scientologists". Businessinsider.com.
12. Jane Galbraith (October 17, 1993). "MEDIA WATCH : The Church and The Magazines". Latimes.com.
13. "Son of a pitch". Theguardian.com. March 12, 1999.
14. Charles Fleming (April 22, 1998). "Days of plunder". Laweekly.com.
15. "Don Simpson (Producer) – bizarre sex life?". Filmstarfacts.com. March 4, 2015.
16. "Fatal Attraction: How Sex and Drugs Brutally Ripped Apart Hot Hollywood Team". Wall Street Journal.
17. "Don Simpson: Hollywood Death". latimes.com. April 2, 1998. Retrieved September 5, 2016.
18. Philips, Chuck (August 18, 1996). "Don Simpson's Death Showed Depth of Abuse". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 2, 2012.
19. Carla Hall; Chuck Philips (August 17, 1995). "Doctor, 44, Found Dead at Home of Producer: Probe: Body discovered in pool house of Don Simpson. There are no signs of trauma, officials say". Los Angeles Times.
20. Philips, Chuck; Hall, Carla (February 6, 1996). "Narcotics Unit Probes Don Simpson's Death". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 2, 2012.
21. Ascher-Walsh, Rebecca (February 22, 1996). "Don Simpson passes away". Entertainment Tonight. p. 3. Retrieved December 2, 2012.
22. Turan, Kenneth (August 7, 1996). "Between a 'Rock' and Loud Place". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 2, 2012.
23. Pace, Eric (January 21, 1996). "Don Simpson Is Dead at 52; Produced Blockbuster Films". The New York Times. Retrieved October 26, 2009.
24. Fleming, Charles (April 22, 1998). "Days of Plunder". LA Weekly. Retrieved July 4, 2020.
25. Shipman, David (January 23, 1996). "Obituary: Don Simpson". The Independent. UK. Retrieved December 2, 2012.
26. Philips, Chuck; Malnic, Eric (March 17, 1996). "Autopsy Finds Don Simpson Died of Overdose". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 2, 2012.
27. Fleming, Charles (1998). High Concept: Don Simpson and the Hollywood Culture of Excess. Doubleday. p. 9. ISBN 0-385-48694-4.

Further reading

• Charles Fleming (April 20, 1999). High Concept: Don Simpson and the Hollywood Cultures of Excess. Main Street Books. ISBN 978-0385486958.

External links

• Don Simpson at IMDb