Edward Saxon

Edward Bradley Saxon (born November 17, 1956) is an American film producer and endowed Chair of the Peter Stark Producing Program at the USC School of Cinematic Arts. The best known film Saxon produced was The Silence of the Lambs.

Early life Saxon was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, and educated at Kirkwood High School from 1972 to 1976.

He studied at McGill University from 1976 to 1980. While at McGill, he founded the Tuesday Night Cafe Theatre with Veronica Brady and Peter Grossman, and the company is still running today. Saxon acted in many plays at the Players' Theatre, McGill's famous Red and White Review. He also founded a radio comedy troupe called The Circle Jerks.

He then studied at the Peter Stark Producing Program at the USC School of Cinematic Arts.

Career Originally an actor, Saxon was one of VH1's first VJ's in New York City.

As Jonathan Demme's producing partner, his films included Beloved, Ulee's Gold, That Thing You Do!, The Truth About Charlie, Married to the Mob, Miami Blues and Philadelphia.

The best known film that Saxon produced was The Silence of the Lambs, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture, and is, to date, the third and last film to sweep the five main categories of Academy Award for Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Director, and Best Picture. (The others are It Happened One Night and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.) He has made several cameos in the films he has produced, most notably as a head in a jar in Silence of the Lambs.

After parting ways with Demme, Saxon produced Charlie Kaufman and Spike Jonze's Adaptation.. He produced Richard Linklater's Fast Food Nation in 2006. More recent projects include Away We Go, directed by Sam Mendes, and Our Family Wedding, starring Forest Whitaker and America Ferrera.

In 2021, Saxon was named Chair of Peter Stark Producing Program at the USC School of Cinematic Arts. In his appointment, Saxon noted that the Stark program “changed my life.” He added: “Making great stories requires a complex skillset in this transformative time. Building on the legacy of Ray Stark, Art Murphy, and Larry Turman, I'm looking forward to working with our world-class teaching professionals to give students the knowledge and attitudes they need to succeed in marrying commerce and art.”

Filmography He was a producer in all films unless otherwise noted. Film Year Film Credit 1986 Something Wild Executive producer 1988 Married to the Mob 1990 Miami Blues Executive producer 1991 The Silence of the Lambs 1993 Philadelphia 1995 Devil in a Blue Dress Executive producer 1996 That Thing You Do! 1997 Ulee's Gold Executive producer 1998 Beloved 1999 The Opportunists Executive producer 2002 The Truth About Charlie Adaptation 2006 Fast Food Nation Executive producer 2009 Away We Go 2010 Our Family Wedding 2014 Elsa & Fred

As an actor

Year Film Role Notes 1986 Something Wild Kevin Stroup 1990 Miami Blues Krishna Ravindra at Miami Airport 1991 The Silence of the Lambs Benjamin Raspail (Head in a Jar) 1994 The Ref Reporter 1998 Beloved Man with Rubbery Face

Thanks

Year Film Role 1993 Household Saints Thanks 1996 Some Mother's Son Special thanks 2005 Me and You and Everyone We Know 2009 Where the Wild Things Are 2021 Music The producers wish to thank

Television Year Title Credit Notes 1988 Haiti Dreams of Democracy Executive producer Documentary 1991 Women & Men 2 Co-producer Television film 1997 Subway Stories Executive producer Television film 2011 Enlightened Co-executive producer 2016−19 Ray Donovan Co-executive producer

As an actor

Year Title Role Notes 1991 Women & Men 2 Ad Man Television film