Roger Birnbaum
Born (1950-11-14) November 14, 1950[1]
Teaneck, New Jersey, U.S.
Occupation(s)Film and television producer, film and television executive
Spouse(s)Pamela West (divorced)
Leslie Lopez
​
(m. 2013⁠–⁠2019)​
PartnerTeri Garr (1979–1983)
Children1

Roger Birnbaum (born November 14, 1950) is an American film, television, and executive producer.[2][3]

Early life

Birnbaum was born to a Jewish family[4] in Teaneck, New Jersey,[5] the son of Arlene (née Steinlauf) and Norman Birnbaum.[4] His father was a World War II veteran who went into the embroidery business with his father after the war, and used his profits in 1967 to build the Stonehenge, a residential building in New Jersey.[4] Birnbaum graduated from Teaneck High School in 1968[5] and attended the University of Denver.[6]

Career

Birnbaum started out in the music industry at Arista Records working under Clive Davis. A&M Records brought him out to Hollywood becoming its West Coast A&R executive, where he switch over to film. While working at film, he was appointed president of Fair Dinkum Productions, which was headed by Henry Winkler, who supervised Young Sherlock Holmes and The Sure Thing.[7] He worked at United Artists, Guber-Peters Co. (president in 1989) then 20th Century Fox.[8] He was president of production at 20th Century Fox by 1992.[9]

Caravan Pictures was founded by Birnbaum and Joe Roth as a production company at Disney in 1992 to fill the Disney Studios' then-yearly 50 to 60 production and distribution slots.[9] Birnbaum previously left Caravan at the prompting of then Disney studio chief Joe Roth as Disney was cutting its yearly production output and shutting down Caravan. In August 1998, Birnbaum with Gary Barber, former vice chairman and COO of Morgan Creek Productions founded Spyglass Entertainment.[10]

On December 20, 2010, after the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer had emerged from bankruptcy, Birnbaum and Barber became co-Chairs and co-CEOs of the studio.[11][12] On October 3, 2012, Birnbaum announced his intention to exit his role as an MGM executive and return to "hands-on" producing. He will remain with the studio to produce films on "an exclusive basis".[13]

He has since founded three production companies, Pin High Productions,[8] Cave 76 Productions[14] and with Eli Roth, Arts District Entertainment.[15] By September 8, 2016, his exclusivity with MGM had ended.[8]

Personal life

His first wife was Pamela West;[16] they had one daughter Claire Birnbaum Block (born 1987).[17] He married then-restaurant guest relations manager Leslie Lopez in 2013.[18][19] Birnbaum and Lopez divorced in 2019 He was previously in a seven-year relationship with actress Teri Garr.[20]

Filmography

Film

Producer

Executive producer

Special thanks

Acting role
Year Film Role Notes
1998Making SandwichesHollywood TypeShort film

Television

Executive producer

Year Title Notes
1984CBS Schoolbreak Special
1985 Happily Ever AfterTV movie
1987Bay Coven
1997Angels in the Endzone
Flash
2000Angels in the Infield
2003Miracles
Criminology 101TV movie
2004The Ranch
Weekends

Producer

Year Title Notes
1983Ryan's Four
When Your Lover LeavesTV movie
1985Scandal Sheet
Production manager
Year Title Role Notes
1979Music for UNICEF ConcertExecutive in charge of productionTV special
The Bee Gees Special

References

  1. ↑ "Roger Birnbaum Biography (1950?-)". Filmreference.com. Retrieved December 15, 2011.
  2. ↑ "The Tourist". Box Office Mojo.
  3. ↑ "Rush Hour 2". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved August 20, 2013.
  4. 1 2 3 "Norman Birnbaum – Obituary". The New York Times. October 2, 2007.
  5. 1 2 Spelling, Ian (June 1, 2011). "Let the Lion Roar: Teaneck native Roger Birnbaum shines brightly in Hollywood". (201) magazine; Bergen.com. Retrieved October 6, 2011. Much of the producer's touch, the instinct that drives Birnbaum to financially back a script or to help nurture a pitch into a script and then into a feature, and his overall taste as a filmmaker, can be traced back to his formative years in Teaneck. He was raised there and attended Teaneck High School.
  6. ↑ "Advisory Board Biographies". ucsb.edu. Carsey-Wolf Center for Film, Television and New Media, University of California, Santa Barbara. Archived from the original on March 5, 2008. Retrieved March 6, 2008.
  7. ↑ "Roger Birnbaum". www.tcm.com. Retrieved December 14, 2021.
  8. 1 2 3 Galloway, Stephen (September 8, 2016). "'Magnificent Seven' Producer on Why Westerns Aren't Dead and How Cancer Changed Him". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
  9. 1 2 Frook, John Evan (January 30, 1994). "Roth, Birnbaum flex muscles at Caravan". Variety. Retrieved March 19, 2015.
  10. ↑ Eller, Clauida (August 21, 1998). "Spyglass Offers Disney Lower-Risk Deals". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 10, 2019.
  11. ↑ Agard, Chancellor (December 20, 2010). "MGM out of bankruptcy". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on September 6, 2014. Retrieved July 20, 2014.
  12. ↑ McNary, Dave (December 20, 2010). "MGM restructuring becomes official". Variety. Retrieved July 20, 2014.
  13. ↑ Nikki Finke (October 3, 2012). "MGM's Roger Birnbaum Steps Down To Return To Producing; Gary Barber Now Revived Studio's Sole Chairman & CEO". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 6, 2014.
  14. ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony (June 8, 2017). "Annapurna To Release MGM's 'Death Wish' Over Thanksgiving; Sets October Date For 'Professor Marston & The Wonder Women'". Deadline. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
  15. ↑ McNary, Dave (March 26, 2019). "Film News Roundup: Miramax Developing 'I Won't Be Home for Christmas'". Variety. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
  16. ↑ "Lorand West Obituary". Los Angeles Times. July 13, 2008.
  17. ↑ "Going Steady". issuu.com; C Magazine. January 1, 2013. p. 114. Retrieved January 29, 2018. Claire Birnbaum and Eric Block ... husband and wife... Roger Birnbaum (then co-CEO of MGM) gave away his little girl...
  18. ↑ "Warner Bros.' Courtney Simmons Weds, 'CSI:NY' Actor A.J. Buckley Engaged: Hitched, Hatched, Hired". The Hollywood Reporter. January 10, 2013. Retrieved January 29, 2018. Producer Roger Birnbaum became engaged to ... Leslie Lopez ... on Dec. 15
  19. ↑ "41st AFI Life Achievement Award Honoring Mel Brooks – Red Carpet". gettyimages.ie. June 6, 2013. Retrieved January 29, 2018. Leslie Lopez Birnbaum ... and Roger Birnbaum
  20. ↑ Garr, Teri (October 30, 1988). "Is Teri Garr Serious When She Says She Isn't Serious? On Tour, The Actress Drops Her Comedic Guard". Chicago Tribune. Interviewed by Johanna Steinmetz. Archived from the original on March 28, 2014. Well, I lived with two men, one for seven years, the other for five. I was with Birnbaum (Roger Birnbaum, an independent producer) for seven. That was like a marriage.
  21. ↑ Kroll, Justin (March 16, 2023). "Gina Gershon, Rick Hoffman And Tim Dillon Round Out Cast Of Eli Roth's Thanksgiving At TriStar And Spyglass". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
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