Jerome Leon "Jerry" Bruckheimer is an American film and television producer.
He has achieved great success in the genres of action, drama, and science fiction.
His best known television series are CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, CSI: Miami, CSI:
NY, Without a Trace, Cold Case, and the U.S. version of The Amazing Race.
At one point, three of his TV series ranked among the top 10 in the U.S. ratings—a unique
feat in television.
Some of his best-known films include Beverly Hills Cop, Flashdance, Top Gun, The Rock,
Con Air, Armageddon, Bad Boys, Enemy of the State, Black Hawk Down, Pearl Harbor, Pirates
of the Caribbean, and the National Treasure franchise.
He also serves as a Director at ZeniMax Media.
Many of his films were produced by Disney and Paramount, while many of his television
series were co-produced by Warner Bros. and CBS Television Studios.
In July 2003, Bruckheimer was honored by Variety magazine as the first producer in Hollywood
history to produce the top two highest-grossing films of a single weekend, Pirates of the
Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl and Bad Boys II.
Early life The son of German Jewish immigrants, Bruckheimer
was born in Detroit, Michigan.
He graduated Mumford High School in Detroit, at age 17, before moving to Arizona for college.
Bruckheimer was also an active member of the Stamp Collecting Club.
He graduated with a degree in psychology from the University of Arizona with an algebra
minor.
He was a member of the Zeta Beta Tau fraternity.
A film buff at an early age with an interest in photography, Bruckheimer would take snapshots
when he had the opportunity.
After college Bruckheimer worked in advertising in Detroit and New York City, producing award-winning
commercials.
Film production As of 2010, Bruckheimer has produced over
40 feature films, and is regarded in the industry as one of the most successful film producers
of all time.
Bruckheimer started producing films in the 1970s, after leaving his job in advertising,
with director Dick Richards.
They had worked together on the films The Culpepper Cattle Company, Farewell, My Lovely,
and March or Die.
Bruckheimer then worked with Paul Schrader on two films, American Gigolo and Cat People,
which began to give him notice in Hollywood.
During the 1980s and 1990s, he was a co-producer with Don Simpson of a string of highly successful
Hollywood films for Paramount Pictures.
He originally met Don at a screening of 1973's The Harder They Come at Warner Brothers.
The two worked together and created Bruckheimer's first big hit, 1983's Flashdance, which brought
in US$95 million, an incredible sum for an R-rated film.
He had a number of other hits including the Beverly Hills Cop films, Top Gun and Days
of Thunder.
Top Gun would mark the first collaboration with English director Tony Scott, who would
direct six films for Bruckheimer.
While working with Simpson, Bruckheimer became known as "Mr. Outside" because of his experience
with film making, while Simpson became known as "Mr. Inside" because of his film industry
contacts.
The Rock was the last film in which Bruckheimer collaborated with Simpson, due to Simpson's
untimely death.
Bruckheimer stipulated that The Rock be dedicated to the memory of Simpson.
Despite the setback of the untimely death of Simpson in 1996, Bruckheimer has continued
to produce a large number of action films often working with director Michael Bay for
several hits including Armageddon.
His other hit films produced include Remember the Titans, Black Hawk Down and the Pirates
of the Caribbean series.
He has also acquired the rights to produce a film based on the popular role playing game
by Palladium Books, Rifts.
Television production Early in his career, Bruckheimer produced
television commercials, including one for Pepsi.
Since 1997 he has branched out into television, creating a number of police dramas of which
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation has been the most successful.
He has also produced the reality game show The Amazing Race.
In May 2008 CBS announced it had picked up Bruckheimer's newest series, Eleventh Hour,
for the 2008–2009 broadcast television season.
The science fiction drama follows a government agent and a professor as they investigate
strange scientific and medical activity.
From 2004 to 2009, Bruckheimer had six hit television shows on the air: CSI: Crime Scene
Investigation, CSI: Miami, CSI: NY, Cold Case, Without a Trace and The Amazing Race.
At one point, three of his TV series ranked among the top 10 in the ratings—a unique
feat in television.
It was announced on September 10, 2009 that NBC had picked up an action procedural from
Jerry Bruckheimer.
The show, titled Chase, "tells the stories of a team charged with making sure fugitive
criminals don't evade justice," reports The Hollywood Reporter.
It was canceled in May 2011.
Bruckheimer's most notable flop was Skin, which was cancelled after three episodes in
2003.
Financial success One of the most successful producers of all
time, Bruckheimer has been nicknamed "Mr. Blockbuster", due to his track record of commercially
successful, high-grossing films.
Overall, his films have brought in over $13 billion to Hollywood, and have launched the
careers of numerous actors and directors.
In 2007, he was ranked No. 39 on Forbes Celebrity 100 List, up from No. 42 in 2006.
With reported annual earnings of $120 million, he was the 10th highest money-earner on the
2006 Forbes Celebrity 100 List.
Notable box-office grosses
In July 2003, Bruckheimer was honored by Variety magazine as the first producer in Hollywood
history to produce the top two highest-grossing films of a single weekend, the buddy-cop Bad
Boys II and the Disney theme-park spin-off, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the
Black Pearl.
The Pirates of the Caribbean film trilogy, produced through Walt Disney Pictures was
enormously profitable, and demonstrates Bruckheimer's ability to create lucrative projects.
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, the first film in the franchise,
was released on July 9, 2003.
A popular box office hit, it was well received by critics and filmgoers alike.
After the unexpected success of the first film, Walt Disney Pictures revealed that a
trilogy was in the works.
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest was released on July 7, 2006.
The sequel proved to be very successful, breaking records worldwide the day of its premiere.
In the end it acquired a total of $1,066,179,725 at the worldwide box office, becoming the
third and fastest film to reach this amount.
The third film in the series, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End was released worldwide
on May 25, 2007.
Altogether, the film franchise has grossed over $2.79 billion worldwide.
In 2011 a fourth film in the franchise, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, was released.
Professional honors and awards The editors of Entertainment Weekly named
Bruckheimer the No. 1 most-powerful person in Hollywood in 2003.
He was ranked No. 10 on Premiere's 2006 "Power 50" list, and had also ranked No. 10 on the
2005 list.
He ranked No. 19 on Premiere's 2003 annual Hollywood Power List, and had ranked No. 22
in 2002.
His projects have been honored with 41 Academy Award nominations, eight Grammy Award nominations,
23 Golden Globe nominations, 77 Emmy Award nominations, eight People's Choice nominations,
and numerous MTV Awards, including one for Best Picture of the Decade.
Bruckheimer received the ShoWest Producer of the Year Award in 1998 and in 2000 the
Producers Guild honored him with the David O. Selznick Award for Lifetime Achievement.In
May 2006, he was honored with a doctor of fine arts degree from the University of Arizona's
College of Fine Arts.
On June 24, 2013, Bruckheimer received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, placed right
by El Capitan Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard.
Views on cinema When asked about his favorite films, he named
1972's The Godfather, 1971's The French Connection, 1997's Good Will Hunting, and 1959's The 400
Blows.
When asked on what the film industry's obligation to an audience was, Bruckheimer responded,
"We are in the transportation business.
We transport audiences from one place to another."
When asked why he makes films, he stated, "If I made films for the critics, or for someone
else, I'd probably be living in some small Hollywood studio apartment."
Personal life
Bruckheimer has been married twice.
His first wife was Bonnie Bruckheimer.
He currently lives in Los Angeles, with his second wife, novelist Linda Sue Balahoutis
Bruckheimer.
He also has one stepdaughter, Alexandra.
The couple also owns a farm in Bloomfield, Kentucky, about 20 miles southeast of Louisville,
as well as another in Ojai, south of Santa Barbara.
As a teenager, Linda moved from Kentucky to Los Angeles, where she has been a writer,
producer and West Coast editor for Mirabella, and where she married Jerry Bruckheimer.
She regularly spends time as a preservation activist, restoring and preserving historic
buildings in small rural U.S. towns.
His film company, Jerry Bruckheimer Films, is located at 1631 10th Street in Santa Monica,
California.
Philanthropic activities Bruckheimer's philanthropic activities have
included publicly supporting the fight against multiple sclerosis via his work with The Nancy
Davis Foundation for MS.
He has additionally pledged to help various causes by establishing the Jerry Bruckheimer
Foundation.
However, according to The Smoking Gun, the last time the Jerry Bruckheimer Foundation
made a contribution was in 1995, when it gave $9,350 to Van Nuys prep school.
Bruckheimer has aided in the repair and restoration of the historic clipper ship Cutty Sark.
A collection of photos taken by Bruckheimer went on display in London in November 2007
to help raise money for the Cutty Sark Conservation Project.
The exhibition featured more than thirty pictures taken on set during the filming of Pirates
of the Caribbean: At World's End.
Political contributions Bruckheimer donated funds to John McCain's
2008 presidential election campaign.
In 2007 it was reported that he donated 29% of his $20,700 in political contributions
to Republican candidates, but mainly leans Democratic otherwise.
He gave $5,000 to a joint fundraising committee on John McCain's behalf.
Bruckheimer has donated more than $50,000 to Republican campaigns and committees.
Bruckheimer donated $25,000 to the 2012 Mitt Romney Victory Fund.
Sports ownership Bruckheimer has been named as one of the investors
of a new sports arena in Las Vegas and has been rumored to be the leading choice by the
National Hockey League to own an expansion hockey team that would play in the proposed
arena.
Video Games In December 2007 Bruckheimer announced plans
to partner with MTV to create a new game studio.
The same year Bruckheimer joined ZeniMax Media board of directors and has since showed up
at several launch parties for Bethesda Softworks titles including Fallout 3, Fallout: New Vegas,
and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.
In 2009 Bruckheimer unveiled Jerry Bruckheimer Games headed by Former Microsoft Studios Publishing
Executive Producer Jim Veevaert as president of production and Jay Cohen, previously Ubisoft's
vice president of U.S. publishing, as president of development.
In 2011 it was rumored that Jerry Bruckheimer Games was working on three titles, but nothing
came out of it ever since.
In March 2013 Jerry Bruckheimer Games was closed.
Although Jerry Bruckheimer Games is closed, Bruckheimer still remains a ZeniMax board
member to this day, mostly due to being a close Associate of ZeniMax President Ernest
Del.
Filmography Films
Upcoming films Television
Television films Max Q television film
Swing Vote television film Fearless television film
Reality television The Amazing Race TV Series
Take the Money and Run TV series Comedy
Modern Men TV series Drama
Soldier of Fortune, Inc.
TV Series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation TV Series
Without a Trace TV Series CSI: Miami TV Series
Profiles from the Front Line TV Series Skin TV Series
Cold Case TV Series CSI: NY TV Series
Just Legal TV Series E-Ring TV Series
Close to Home TV Series Justice TV Series
Eleventh Hour TV Series The Forgotten TV Series
Dark Blue TV Series Miami Medical TV Series
Chase TV Series The Whole Truth TV series
Pilots The Legacy was shot for UPN's 2002–2003
season, written by Simon Kinberg and directed by Jim Gillespie.
The Legacy is a science fiction drama that tells the story of a young assistant District
Attorney Sam who inherits superpowers and must juggle the responsibility with his existing
job and girlfriend Jess.
An HBO television series inspired by Cocaine Cowboys is in the works, with Jerry Bruckheimer,
Michael Bay, Alfred Spellman and Billy Corben serving as executive producers.
It will chronicle the early days of cocaine trafficking in Miami, and is being produced
by HBO sister company Warner Bros. Television, where Jerry Bruckheimer TV is based.
References
External links Jerry Bruckheimer Films
Jerry Bruckheimer at the Internet Movie Database Jerry Bruckheimer collected news and commentary
at The New York Times http:www.zenimax.com/bod.htm