Frank Agrama facts for kids

Farouk "Frank" Agrama (Arabic: فرنك عجرمة) (1 January 1930 – 25 April 2023) was an Egyptian-born American film director and producer, writer and businessman. He was founder and chief executive officer" (CEO) of Harmony Gold USA, Inc.

In the 1970s and early 1980s, Agrama made a number of low-budget films which included The Godfather's Friend, Queen Kong and Dawn of the Mummy. He also began selling broadcast rights from Paramount Pictures, which he then sold to his friend, former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, to the latter's Mediaset broadcasting and multimedia company.

In 1983, he secured a deal with the South African Broadcasting Corporation ("SABC") to distribute the controversial miniseries Shaka Zulu. In the same year, he founded "Harmony Gold USA, Inc.". Despite Shaka Zulu's massive success worldwide, Agrama's skillful negotiations left SABC to actually lose money, while Harmony Gold kept most of the profit. Harmony Gold would eventually be known for producing films such as Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles, other Robotech animated works and the 1993 miniseries Heidi.

According to the Los Angeles Times, prosecutors of Milan, on November 21, 2006, charged Agrama, along with former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and ten others, in a trial over tax fraud, embezzlement and false accounting to Mediaset. In fact, on October 26, 2012, Agrama was convicted after this lengthy trial, where Berlusconi, or his group, had allegedly bought USA film rights by him to the Mediaset media company at inflated prices. As his age was over 70 years, he was exempted from direct imprisonment and served no actual jail time.

In 2013, Agrama and several others, including Mediaset Vice President Pier Silvio Berlusconi, son of Silvio, and the Hong Kong-based Wiltshire Group of Companies were under trial for tax evasion and embezzlement with the broadcasting rights firm, Mediatrade. In 2014, all parties were acquitted in the first instance due to expiring statute of limitations. A new appeals hearing took place on January 20, 2016. All charges against Agrama and five others were dropped, while Mediaset CEO Pier Silvio Berlusconi and President Fedele Confalonieri were sentenced to 14 months imprisonment.

He died on April 25th, 2023.

Production credits

Actor

• The Circus (1949)
• Wa’d (1954)
• Hob Fi Hob (1960)

Director

• Eroe Di Sabia (1970) writer/director
• The Godfather's Friend (1972) writer/director
• Queen Kong (1976)
• Dawn of the Mummy (1981)

Producer

• Robotech The Movie (1986) Executive Producer
• The World of the Talisman (1987) (a.k.a. Planet Busters, Birth)
• Robotech II: The Sentinels (1987) Producer
• Lensman: Power of the Lens (1987) Executive producer
• Lensman: Secret of the Lens (1988) Executive producer
• Around the World in 80 Days (1989) Producer
• Dragon Ball (1989) Executive Producer
• Sherlock Holmes and the Leading Lady (1992) Producer
• The Lost World (1992) Producer
• Heidi (1993) Producer
• The Return to the Lost World (1994) Producer
• American Strays (1996) Executive Producer
• Road Ends (1997) Producer
• Robotech: Battlecry (2002) (Video Game) Executive producer
• Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles (2006) Executive producer
• Robotech: Love Live Alive (2013) Executive producer

Writer

• Dawn of the Mummy (1981) Writer
• Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles (2006) Screenplay