Don Simpson

Donald Clarence Simpson (October 29, 1943 – January 19, 1996) was an American film producer, screenwriter, and actor, known for his work on blockbuster films of the 1980s and 1990s. Simpson entered the film industry in the 1970s and worked at Warner Bros. and Paramount Pictures. He eventually began a professional partnership with Jerry Bruckheimer, and together, they produced hit films such as Flashdance, Beverly Hills Cop (1984), Top Gun (1986), and The Rock (1996), the latter released posthumously. As his stature in Hollywood grew, Simpson became notorious for his debauched lifestyle, which included severe and longstanding substance abuse, and he ultimately died from heart failure caused by an overdose of cocaine and prescription drugs. By the time of his death, his and Bruckheimer's films had grossed over $3 billion worldwide.

Early life Simpson was born in Seattle, Washington, to June Hazel (née Clark), a housewife, and Russell J. Simpson, a mechanic at Boeing at the time of his son's birth. He grew up in Juneau, Alaska. His parents were strict Baptists and Simpson would go to church four to five times a week. He would call himself a "straight-A Bible student". 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.

Career 1970s and 1980s: Paramount Studios In the early 1970s, Simpson started working for Jack Wodell & Associates in San Francisco before moving to Los Angeles. He got a job marketing exploitation films for Warner Bros. in 1972, handling distribution marketing for the movies Woodstock and A Clockwork Orange.

In 1975 Simpson went into an interview with Paramount Pictures. He was referred by his friend Steve Tisch, nephew of Larry Tisch (who later owned CBS and Westinghouse), for the job Steve Tisch turned down. Steve Tisch would later go on to produce Risky Business, Forrest Gump and more. Jerry Bruckheimer, who was already friends with Simpson, loaned his personal car to Simpson to drive to the interview.

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. He was working on eight productions at once, and would regularly throw a tantrum while in production. The two would go on to produce some of the most financially successful films of the 1980s: Flashdance (1983), 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. The success of Flashdance prompted Simpson and Bruckheimer to launch their own production company that was affiliated with Paramount Pictures.

1990s 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.

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, returned them to success. During the shooting of Days of Thunder, Simpson threw Scientology leader David Miscavige off the production after Simpson refused to pay for a more expensive Scientology-patented sound recording device.

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." Simpson worked out every day with special equipment provided by Arnold Schwarzenegger.

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.

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,

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". 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. 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. 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. In August 1995, Ammerman died at Simpson's residence, from what was later determined to be an accidental overdose of cocaine, Valium, venlafaxine, and morphine.

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. Simpson died before production was completed, and the film is dedicated to his memory.

Death On January 19, 1996, Simpson was found dead in the bathroom of his Bel Air, Los Angeles, home. 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). At the time of his death, there were 21 different drugs in his system, including antidepressants, stimulants, sedatives, and tranquilizers.

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". until his own death in Noank, Connecticut, on January 25, 2023, at age 77.

Filmography He was a producer in all films unless otherwise noted.

Film Year Film Credit Notes 1983 Flashdance 1984 Beverly Hills Cop Thief of Hearts 1986 Top Gun 1987 Beverly Hills Cop II also executive producer on the film's soundtrack 1990 Days of Thunder 1994 The Ref Executive producer 1995 Bad Boys Crimson Tide Dangerous Minds Final film as a producer 1996 The Rock Posthumous release

As an actor Year Film Role 1976 Cannonball Assistant District Attorney 1990 Days of Thunder Aldo Benedetti

As writer Year Film Notes 1975 Aloha, Bobby and Rose Uncredited 1976 Cannonball

Television Year Title Credit 1996 Dangerous Minds Executive producer

Posthumous credits Year Title Credit 2003 Bad Boys II As Don Simpson/Jerry Bruckheimer Films 2020 Bad Boys for Life As Don Simpson/Jerry Bruckheimer Films 2022 Top Gun: Maverick As Don Simpson/Jerry Bruckheimer Films 2024 Bad Boys: Ride or Die As Don Simpson/Jerry Bruckheimer Films 2024 Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F As Don Simpson/Jerry Bruckheimer Films