Brad Grey

Brad Alan Grey (December 29, 1957 – May 14, 2017) was an American television and film producer. He co-founded Brillstein-Grey Entertainment (now Brillstein Entertainment Partners), and afterwards became the chairman and CEO of Paramount Pictures, a position he held from 2005 to 2017. Grey graduated from the University 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. He also produced eight out of Paramount's 10 top-grossing films of all time after having succeeded Sherry Lansing in 2005.

Early life Grey was born to a Jewish family in the Bronx, the youngest child of a garment district salesman. He majored in business and communications at the University at Buffalo.

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. He 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.

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 rechristened Brillstein-Grey Entertainment. 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. Both suits were settled, avoiding a trial. Shandling did testify about Grey during the 2008 trial of private investigator Anthony Pellicano, who worked on Grey's defense team. The value of the settlement to Shandling was later disputed by attorneys as being either $4 million or $10 million.

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, NewsRadio, The Steve Harvey Show, and Just Shoot Me! Grey also ventured into film by producing the Adam Sandler hit Happy Gilmore.

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

In July 2000 - on the day of Scary Movies opening - Grey and Brillstein-Grey were sued by Bo Zenga and his Boz Productions in what became known as the 'Scary' suit. Zenga, at the time an unknown bit-part actor, "claimed he had an oral agreement with Grey's management firm Brillstein-Grey Entertainment, giving him equal profits on the film".

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." When questioned about "an accusation from his former business partner that he coerced her to lie for him,"

In May 2006, Zenga "filed a new suit against Grey personally," 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." The suit was "dismissed, due to Zenga having lied and to statute of limitations issues." Zenga's appeal continued after Grey's death until being dismissed in December 2017.

Paramount Pictures CEO Grey was named chief executive officer of Paramount Pictures Corporation in 2005. In his position, Grey 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. 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.

Among the commercial and critical hit films Paramount produced and/or distributed during Grey'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 and 18 in 2012.

After arriving at Paramount in 2005, Chairman and CEO Grey was credited with leading a return to fortune at the box office. 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. 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. Paramount's 2012 slate included The Dictator, which earned $179 million on a $65 million budget.

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

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.

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.

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.

Death Grey died on May 14, 2017, from fourth-stage metastatic lung cancer at his Holmby Hills home in Los Angeles, California. He was 59.

Philanthropy Grey received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from SUNY during a visit to Buffalo and UB in 2003. Grey's Board appointments included: UCLA's Executive Board for the Medical Sciences USC School of Cinema-Television Board of Councilors Board of Directors for Project A.L.S. NYU's Tisch School of the Arts Los Angeles County Museum of Art

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

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 1986−1990 It's Garry Shandling's Show Executive producer 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 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 1992−1998 The Larry Sanders Show Executive producer 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 1995−1997 The Jeff Foxworthy Show Executive producer Mr. Show with Bob and David Executive producer The Naked Truth Executive producer 1995−1999 NewsRadio Executive producer 1996 For Hope Executive producer Television film Mr. Show with Bob and David: Fantastic Newness Executive producer Television short 1996−2002 The Steve Harvey Show Executive producer Politically Incorrect Executive producer 1997 C-16: FBI Executive producer 1997−1998 Alright Already Executive producer 1997−2003 Just Shoot Me! Executive producer 1998 Mr. Show and the Incredible, Fantastical News Report Executive producer Television short Applewood 911 Executive producer Television film 1999−2007 The Sopranos Executive producer 2000 Sammy Executive producer 2001−2002 Pasadena Executive producer 2002 In Memoriam: New York City Executive producer Documentary Father Lefty Executive producer Television film 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 2004 Three Sisters: Searching for a Cure Executive producer Documentary 2004−2006 Cracking Up Executive producer 2005 Jake in Progress Executive producer East of Normal, West of Weird Executive producer Television film 2006−2019 Real Time with Bill Maher Executive producer

Awards