Brad Grey facts for kids

Brad Alan Grey (December 29, 1957 – May 14, 2017) was a well-known American television and film producer. He helped start Brillstein-Grey Entertainment, a company that managed talent. Later, he became the head of Paramount Pictures, a big movie studio. He led Paramount from 2005 until 2017. Under his leadership, Paramount had great success, ranking number one in the world for movie sales in 2011. He also helped produce many of Paramount's highest-earning movies ever.

Early Life and First Steps

Brad Grey was born in The Bronx, a part of New York City. He was the youngest child in his family. He studied business and communication at the University at Buffalo.

While in college, he started working for a concert promoter. At just 20 years old, Brad produced his first big show: a concert by the famous singer Frank Sinatra in 1978. He also traveled to Manhattan to find new, funny comedians. Brad helped comedian Bob Saget get his start, making Saget his very first client.

Building a Career in Entertainment

Becoming a Talent Agent and Producer

In 1984, Brad Grey met Bernie Brillstein, another talent manager. Brad convinced Bernie that he could find exciting new talent. Because of this, Brad became a partner, and their company was named Brillstein-Grey Entertainment.

Brad started producing TV shows in 1986. One of his first hits was It's Garry Shandling's Show on Showtime. Later, Brad took full control of the company. Its TV part was then called "Brad Grey Television."

Brad produced many popular shows. These included the Emmy Award-winning drama The Sopranos and The Wayne Brady Show. Other shows he helped create were The Larry Sanders Show, NewsRadio, and Just Shoot Me!. Brad also got into making movies. He produced the funny Adam Sandler film Happy Gilmore.

In 2002, Brad Grey teamed up with actors Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston to create a new company called Plan B Entertainment. This company made two successful movies for Warner Bros.: Tim Burton's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Martin Scorsese's The Departed. After Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston separated, Brad Grey and Brad Pitt moved Plan B Entertainment to Paramount Pictures in 2005.

Leading Paramount Pictures

Brad Grey's Impact at Paramount

Brad Grey became the chief executive officer of Paramount Pictures in 2005. This meant he was in charge of all the movies the studio made. He also oversaw how Paramount's films were released around the world. This included movies from different parts of Paramount, like Paramount Vantage and Nickelodeon Movies.

During Brad Grey's time, Paramount released many successful movies. These included popular series like Transformers, Paranormal Activity, and Iron Man. Other big hits were Star Trek, How to Train Your Dragon, Mission: Impossible III, and Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol. Paramount also released critically praised films like An Inconvenient Truth, There Will Be Blood, and No Country for Old Men.

Under Brad Grey, Paramount's movies received many nominations for the Academy Awards. For example, they got 20 nominations in 2011 and 18 in 2012.

Brad Grey helped Paramount become very successful at the box office. He brought back and started new major movie series. For instance, Paranormal Activity was made for a very small amount of money ($15,000) but earned $192 million worldwide! The Transformers movies also did incredibly well, with Transformers: Dark of the Moon making over $1.1 billion around the globe.

Brad Grey also worked closely with famous filmmakers like J. J. Abrams, Michael Bay, and Martin Scorsese.

In 2011, after the success of Rango, Paramount's first original animated movie, Brad Grey started a new animation studio called Paramount Animation. He also launched a label called Insurge Pictures for making low-budget films, which released Justin Bieber: Never Say Never.

Towards the end of his time at Paramount, the studio faced some challenges. Brad Grey left his position at Paramount Pictures shortly before he passed away.

Later Life and Passing

Brad Grey passed away on May 14, 2017, from cancer. He was at his home in Holmby Hills, Los Angeles, California. He was 59 years old.

Giving Back

Brad Grey was honored with a special degree from SUNY in 2003 for his contributions. He was also a member of several important boards. These included boards for medical sciences at UCLA, the USC School of Cinema-Television, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. He also supported Project A.L.S. and NYU's Tisch School of the Arts.

Film and TV Work

Brad Grey was a producer for many films and television shows.

Film

As writer

Miscellaneous crew

Thanks

Television

Awards and Recognition