| Michael Eisner |
Article Index for Michael |
Website Links For Michael |
Information AboutMichael Eisner |
|
Michael Dammann Eisner (born March 7 , 1942 ) ran the The Walt Disney Company from 1984 to 2005. EARLY LIFE Eisner, born in Mt. Kisco, New York to affluent Jewish parents, was raised on Park Avenue in New York . He attended the Lawrenceville School and graduated from Denison University in 1964 with a B.A. in English. ABC AND PARAMOUNT After two brief stints at NBC and CBS , Barry Diller at ABC hired Eisner as Assistant to the National Programming Director. Eisner moved up the ranks, eventually becoming a vice president in charge of programming and development. In 1976, Diller, who had by then moved on to become chairman of Paramount Pictures , plucked Eisner from ABC and made him president and COO of the movie studio. During his tenure at Paramount, the studio turned out such hit films as '' Saturday Night Fever '', '' Grease '', the '' Star Trek '' film franchise, '' Raiders Of The Lost Ark '', and '' Beverly Hills Cop '', and hit TV shows such as '' Happy Days '', '' Laverne And Shirley '', '' Cheers '' and '' Family Ties ''. Diller left Paramount in 1984, and, as his protege, Eisner expected to assume Diller's position as studio chief. When he was passed over for the job, though, he left to look for work elsewhere and lobbied for the position of CEO of The Walt Disney Company. DISNEY After Walt Disney Productions , the world-renowned studio that had been struggling to get by since its founder's death in 1966, narrowly survived takeover attempts by corporate raiders, shareholders Sid Bass and Roy E. Disney ; who died in 1971, brought on Eisner and former Warner Brothers chief Frank Wells to turn the company's dire situation around. During the second half of the 1980s and 1990s , the studio quickly revitalised, becoming one of the department, and the division had a "golden age" with annual box office hits with such regularity that even their creative structure started to be known as the "Disney formula." Disney also broadened its adult offerings in film with Eisner's predecessor, Ron W. Miller , of Miramax Films in 1994. Disney acquired a slew of other media sources, including ESPN. During the early part of the 1990s, he and his partners set out to plan "The Disney Decade" which was to feature new parks around the world, existing park expansions, new films, and new media investments. However while some of the proposals did follow through, most did not. These include WestCOT , Disney's America , Disney-MGM Studios Paris , and amongst film projects, sequels for Who Framed Roger Rabbit . Wells died in a helicopter crash in 1994, ending the longstanding feud between the two men (the Lion King , which is the most successful hand-drawn animated picture, was released over two months later in his memory). Shortly thereafter, Jeffrey Katzenberg resigned and formed Dreamworks SKG with partners Steven Spielberg and David Geffen because Eisner would not appoint Katzenberg to Wells' now available post. The Save Disney war and Eisner's ouster In 2003, ) On March 3 , 2004 , at Disney's annual shareholders' meeting, a surprising and unprecedented 43% of Disney's shareholders, predominantly rallied by former board members Roy Disney and Stanley Gold , voted to oppose the reelection of Eisner to the corporate board of directors. This vigorous opposition, unusual in major public corporations, convinced Disney's board to strip him of his chairmanship and give that position to former U.S. Senator George Mitchell . However, the board did not give Eisner's detractors what they really wanted: his immediate removal as chief executive. As criticism of Eisner intensified in the wake of the shareholder meeting, however, his position became more and more tenuous, and on March 13 , 2005 , Eisner announced that he would step down as CEO one year before his contract expired. On September 30 , Eisner resigned both as an executive and as a member of the board of directors, and, severing all formal ties with the company, he waived his contractual rights to perks such as the use of a corporate jet and an office at the company's Burbank headquarters. Eisner's replacement was his longtime lieutenant, Bob Iger . Eisner's struggle to maintain control of the legendary entertainment company was the subject of journalist James B. Stewart 's bestselling book '' DisneyWar ''. POST-DISNEY On October 7 , 2005 , Eisner hosted The Charlie Rose Show . His guests were John Travolta and his ex-boss-turned-rival, Barry Diller . Months later, on January 10 , 2006 , CNBC announced that Eisner would be given his own hour-long, prime-time interview show, '' Conversations With Michael Eisner ''. Although now the second largest majority stockholder at the Walt Disney Company, new Acquisition deal resulted in Steve Jobs holding that distinction. This course of events was contradicted on January 23 , 2006 when the board of the Walt Disney Company, on the verge of voting to buy Pixar Animation Studios , unanimously voted to re-name the Team Disney building at company headquarters '' The Michael D. Eisner Building ''. Variety.com recently reported that Eisner invested in an internet television company named Veoh Networks [http://www.veoh.com . PORTRAYALS IN FILM AND TELEVISION Eisner's controversial stature has resulted in him being portrayed and/or parodied in several films and television shows:
PERSONAL LIFE His sons are Breck , Eric , Anders Eisner and Chris Payne. Chris is a filmmaker, best known as the director of the upcoming movie The British Invasion, starring Clive Owen and Natalie Portman. EXTERNAL LINK |