Lawrence Gordon(I)

Spanning over six decades, Lawrence Gordon has maintained a career as one of the entertainment industry's most prolific and successful producers and studio executives. Born in Yazoo City, Mississippi, Mr. Gordon graduated from Tulane University with a degree in business administration. Upon moving to Los Angeles in the early '60s, he went to work as executive assistant to the legendary producer Aaron Spelling at Four Star Television and soon became a writer and associate producer of several Spelling shows. He followed with a stint as head of West Coast talent development for ABC Television and later as an executive with Bob Banner Associates. In 1968, he joined Sam Arkoff and Jim Nicholson at American International Pictures (AIP) as Story Editor and rose to Vice President in charge of development. He then segued to Screen Gems, the television division of Columbia Pictures as Vice President in charge of project development, where he helped put together the classic television movie "Brian's Song," as well as the first "novel for television," the adaptation of Leon Uris' "QB VII." Accepting an offer to become the first executive in the company's history to be in charge of worldwide production, Mr. Gordon returned to AIP. His many projects included "Coffy;" "Foxy Brown;" "Hell's Angels '69; " "Wild in the Streets;" John Milius' "Dillinger," (for which Mr. Gordon also served as executive producer); and Ralph Bakshi's groundbreaking and controversial animated hit "Heavy Traffic," which was among The New York Times' top ten films of 1973. Mr. Gordon then formed his own production company, Lawrence Gordon Productions, and began a long and successful association with director Walter Hill. Among the duo's memorable titles are "Hard Times," starring Charles Bronson; "The Driver," with Ryan O'Neal and Isabelle Adjani; cult classics "The Warriors" and"Streets Of Fire;" "48 Hrs." and its sequel "Another 48 Hrs.;" and "Brewster's Millions" starring Richard Pryor. Mr. Gordon also produced the comedy hit "The End," starring Burt Reynolds, and collaborated again with Reynolds on the box-office smash, "Hooper." Also during this period, Mr. Gordon produced "Rolling Thunder," starring William Devane and Tommy Lee Jones; and the now cult movie musical "Xanadu," starring Olivia Newton-John and Gene Kelly. In 1982, Mr. Gordon reunited with his old boss Aaron Spelling to create and executive produce the long-running ABC television series "Matt Houston." Also that year, Mr. Gordon invented, from his original idea, the "buddy movie" genre, teaming up Nick Nolte and a then-unknown Eddie Murphy in the iconic "48 HRS." The film has spawned a neverending trend of pairing opposites that has been and continues to be a staple of filmmaking. In 1984, Mr. Gordon became President and Chief Operating Officer of Twentieth Century Fox, where he oversaw such successful titles as James Cameron's "Aliens;" James L. Brooks' "Broadcast News;" "Commando," starring Arnold Schwarzenegger; and "Jewel of the Nile," starring Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner and Danny DeVito. During Mr. Gordon's tenure at Fox, "The Simpsons" TV series was created by Matt Groening and James L. Brooks, as well as TV series by Stephen Bochco and David E. Kelley. After his stint at Fox, Mr. Gordon produced the critically acclaimed "Lucas," marking the film debut of Winona Ryder, breakout role for teen idol Corey Haim, and also starring Charlie Sheen. That year also saw him producing "Jumpin' Jack Flash," starring Whoopi Goldberg, which was Penny Marshall's first film as a director. Mr. Gordon has also produced for the stage. On Broadway, he produced the musical "Smile," with music by Tony, Grammy and Academy Award winner Marvin Hamlisch and book and lyrics by Tony and Academy Award winner Howard Ashman. Off-Broadway, Mr. Gordon was awarded the prestigious Drama Desk Award for the revival of Joe Orton's "Entertaining Mr. Sloane." In 1987, Mr. Gordon produced the summer hit "Predator," starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and later, its sequel. In 1988, he produced the summer blockbuster "Die Hard," which introduced Bruce Willis as an action hero. It was followed by a sequel, "Die Hard 2: Die Harder" in 1990, and spawned one of cinema's all-time most successful and imitated franchises. In 1989, together with his brother Charles Gordon, Mr. Gordon produced "Field of Dreams," the much beloved film starring Kevin Costner and directed by Phil Alden Robinson. The Universal release received several Academy Award nominations, including one for Best Picture. The title, Field of Dreams, has become part of the American vernacular, as has the phrase, "If you build it, he will come..." Subsequently, Mr. Gordon produced "Family Business," directed by Sidney Lumet and starring Sean Connery, Dustin Hoffman and Matthew Broderick; the comedy hit "K-9," starring James Belushi; "The Rocketeer," directed by Joe Johnston, for the Walt Disney Company; and "Lock Up," starring Sylvester Stallone. In 1989, Mr. Gordon formed Largo Entertainment with the backing of JVC Entertainment, Inc. of Japan, representing the first major Japanese investment in the movie business. As the company's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Gordon was responsible for the production of such films as "Point Break," starring Patrick Swayze and Keanu Reeves; "Unlawful Entry," starring Kurt Russell, Ray Liotta and Madeleine Stowe; "Used People," starring Shirley MacLaine, Jessica Tandy, Kathy Bates, Marcia Gay Harden, and Marcello Mastroianni; and "TimeCop," starring Jean- Claude Van Damme. Largo also co-financed and handled the foreign distribution of the acclaimed "Malcolm X," directed by Spike Lee and starring Denzel Washington. In 1994, Mr. Gordon left Largo in favor of a long-term producing deal with Universal Pictures. At Universal, his first production was the controversial and much-maligned Kevin Costner starrer "Waterworld," which grossed over $300 million worldwide and returned a profit. The live show based on the film opened three months after the film at Universal Studios Hollywood and has run continuously for 30 years, also expanding to the Universal theme parks in Japan, Singapore, and Beijing. It is consistently rated one of the best live theme park shows. Among other Lawrence Gordon Productions are "The Devil's Own," starring Harrison Ford and Brad Pitt; the critically-acclaimed "Boogie Nights," directed by Paul Thomas Anderson and starring Mark Wahlberg; and, "Mystery Men," starring Ben Stiller. In 2001, Mr. Gordon produced two motion pictures that opened number one at the box office: the acclaimed "K-PAX," starring two- time Oscar winner Kevin Spacey and Oscar winner Jeff Bridges; and the summer hit "Tomb Raider," starring Oscar-winner Angelina Jolie in the first big budget action film with a female lead. In the summer of 2003 Mr. Gordon's "Tomb Raider II" was released, with Angelina Jolie again as Lara Croft. In 2004, Mr. Gordon produced "Hellboy" in 2004, and in 2008, its sequel "Hellboy II: The Golden Army," both directed by Guillermo del Toro. Mr. Gordon also produced "Watchmen", directed by Zack Snyder. More recently, Mr. Gordon Executive Produced the well-received documentary "Bill Russell: Legend" chronicling the life of the basketball pioneer and trailblazer for Netflix. He also served as Executive Producer on the Emmy-nominated "Predator" spin-off film "Prey," on Hulu. Up next, at age 89, he will again serve as Executive Producer of the next installment in the "Predator" franchise, "Badlands," starring Elle Fanning. In 2016 Mr. Gordon received the Distinguished Alumni award from Tulane University. In 2022, he was honored by the Governor of Mississippi at their annual Arts Commission awards for lifetime achievement in film and television. Mr. Gordon is also a recipient of the ShoWest Lifetime Achievement Award and the Producers Guild of America's top honor, the prestigious David O. Selznick Lifetime Achievement Award. Mr. Gordon has served on the Board of Directors of the Producers Guild of America, as well as the Board of the American Film Institute. He is also a former member of the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.